By Norm Frauenheim
Busy is a vanishing fundamental in boxing these days, although likable Jaime Munguia continues to practice the old-school art-form this week with his fourth fight in a year Saturday in a Tijuana homecoming.
It’s not much of a fight, notable only because of Munguia, who continues to work on his craft in a super-middleweight bout that sets the stage for what could be a significant step into his prime next year. Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs) is not quite a full-blown star, but his busy schedule is a sure sign that he intends to be.
He re-introduces himself to hometown fans for the first time in nearly three years on ESPN against unknown Bruno Surace (25-0-2, 4 KOs), who is leaving France for the first time for a fight not expected to last long. Munguia is a 25-to-1 favorite. Those kind of odds suggest that Munguia will spend more time saying hello to old friends than exchanging punches with the Frenchman.
Nevertheless, he’ll re-acquaint himself with his loyal fan base while also alerting it to a year he hopes will put him at centerstage in the super-middleweight shuffle.
Other than the Tijuana homecoming, the biggest news involving Munguia this week actually comes out of Germany at the World Boxing Council’s (WBC) annual convention in Hamburg. The acronym’s menu included an order Wednesday that Munguia fight feared Christian Mbilli for an interim (aren’t they all?) title significant only because it’s supposed to lead to a shot at the real championship.
We say “supposed to” because so many never do, especially at super-middle. That’s Canelo Alvarez’ division, the pay-per-view star and boxing diva who gets what he wants.
It’s no coincidence that the WBC ratings committee noted that Canelo will be granted “a voluntary” title defense. Call it the Canelo Clause, meaning he does whatever he wants. Still, it’s not clear what his plans are. Guess here, he won’t fight anybody still in his twenties and with enough energy to stage an aggressive assault in the late rounds.
Again, the guess here is that’s exactly why he hasn’t — and probably never will — fight David Benavidez, the Phoenix-born fighter who will be 28 years old on Tuesday.
Benavidez’ upcoming birthday included a promising gift this week, also from the WBC, which designated his Feb. 1 fight against dangerous David Morrell as a light-heavyweight eliminator for a shot at the Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol 2 winner for the undisputed title, scheduled for Feb. 22.
By now, of course, Benavidez knows all about the mandatory role. Nothing mandatory about it. It’s limbo land. Benavidez was there, the so-called mandatory challenger for Canelo’s title. Yet, Canelo has always found ways to fight somebody else.
The Canelo Clause gives him free rein, one that could even put him at the front of the Beterbiev-Bivol line, especially if Bivol manages to reverse his earlier loss to Beterbiev. That would give Canelo a chance to avenge his scorecard loss to Bivol.
But who knows? Canelo hasn’t been saying much about plans for 2025. For now, at least, the volunteer in his “volunteer defense” might still be Terence Crawford, one of the all-time welterweight greats and a newly-minted junior-middleweight champion. There’s still talk that Crawford will move up to 168 pounds to fight Canelo for what might be Crawford’s final fight in a Hall of Fame career.
All of this puts Munguia in an uncertain spot. He’s already fought Canelo, losing a unanimous decision last May in one of what will be his four-fight schedule in
2024.
Munguia stopped John Ryder, a solid and skillful UK fighter, at Footprint Center in Phoenix in January. He stopped Canadian Erik Bazinyan in September at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, a Phoenix suburb. Following the WBC’s Mbilli-Munguia announcement from Germany, all of the talk centered on an eventual Mbilli-Canelo showdown, perhaps in May or September of next year.
That, of course, presumes that Mbilli beats Munguia. But what if the opposite happens? Let’s say Munguia, still perfecting his craft, beats Mbilli and puts himself in line for a rematch.
Would the 34-year-old Canelo, who is near the end of his prime, agree to a second fight with Munguia, 28 and just entering his prime? Munguia didn’t have much of a chance against Canelo. He lost on all three scorecards — 117-110, 116-111, 115-112. Canelo knocked him down in the fourth round, putting Munguia on the canvas for the only time in his career.
After the fight, Canelo told reporters that he “carried” Munguia. The narrative circulated for weeks. Munguia was very careful with polite, diplomatic answers to inevitable questions. Finally, Munguia objected. In an interview with Boxing Scene and The Boxing Hour days before his stoppage of Bazinyan, Munguia said:
“Truth is, I found it disrespectful.’’
The forthright comment was a certain sign of Munguia’s emerging maturity. In effect, he was telling Canelo that he belongs at center stage and perhaps in a rematch.
Above all, the comment is there, a good promotional angle and a on-the-record demand from Munguia for some respect from the game’s biggest name. There’s only way to get that:
A rematch.
Until then, there’s only one thing to do:
Stay busy.
NOTES
In the wake of Emanuel Navarrete’s devastating three-knockdown, sixth-round stoppage of Oscar Valdez last Saturday in a junior-lightweight rematch Saturday at the Suns home arena in downtown Phenix, there are mounting calls for Valdez, 34, to retire. Top Rank’s Bob Arum told Yahoo’s Keith Idec that he would urge Valdez to retire when they talk again, probably early next month. In an interview with Boxing Scene and The Boxing Hour before the rematch loss, Valdez was adamant. Retirement talk was already circulating. Valdez said he would not. He said retirement was not in his mindset. Question is, what are his options if he decides to fight on after the second loss to Navarrete, who also said in post-fight interviews that he’s contemplating retirement after two or three more fights. Arum says he believes Valdez would be a good trainer. The bi-lingual Valdez also has done some media work as a ringside commentator.
Apparently, Mike Tyson has already done what everybody else is trying to do. He tells Fox Sports Radio that he doesn’t recall much of what happened in the Jake Paul fiasco last month. “I don’t remember the fight that much,’’ Tyson says of an exhibition that was something other than a fight. “I kind of blanked it out.’’ Forget about it? Not quite. Lawsuits and stupid conspiracy theories continue to circulate in the wake of a Netflix show that attracted a reported audience of more than 70 million. It generated lots of money, which probably answers the one question nobody wants to address: How in the hell did Texas license Tyson? He underwent transfusions for excessive bleeding from an ulcer just months before the show. The 58-year-old Tyson told New York Magazine that he asked a physician whether he was going to die. Apparently, Texas regulators ignored that question. I’ve said it once; I’ll say it again. We’re lucky we didn’t witness something more than an embarrassment on Nov. 15 in a ring on the Dallas Cowboys home field.
