TIJUANA, Mexico — Jaime Munguia is not resting in peace after his clash with Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.
The super middleweight will fight Bruno Surrace for the fourth time in 322 days on Saturday night at Caliente Stadium in Tijuana, Mexico, live on ESPN+.
Munguia, who has a record of 44-1 (35 KOs), has returned to action after defeating Alvarez via unanimous decision with a 10th-round KO of Erik Bazinyan in September. Victory line. The victory set the stage for his first fight with new promoter Top Rank. Munguia also fought in January, knocking out John Ryder to set up the Alvarez fight.
The unknown Frenchman Surace, with 25 wins, 0 draws and 2 losses (4 KOs), is of course not as good as Alvarez, or even Ryder or Bazin, but the activities and homecoming activities are very important to this guy. It’s no less important for the 28-year-old Mexican, as he has set a goal of reaching 168 pounds by 2025.
“It’s always a huge motivation to get back in the ring,” Munguia told BoxingScene through a Spanish translator. “My motivation for this game is to go back home to Tijuana, show what I have learned and achieved and give them a good game. I am happy and we will try to continue this campaign.”
After the fight with Munguia, Alvarez claimed he knocked out his countryman in the fourth round and took him to the final bell.
“No, I’m not angry about everything he said, he kept me alive,” Munguia said. “He was kind of contradicting himself because on the one hand, he said he kept me alive, but before that, he also said he would knock me out if given the chance.
“[To get the Alvarez rematch I need to] Keep fighting, keep growing, keep putting in good performances, and if that fight happens, then people are going to have to ask for it… This fight raised my profile a lot. The more people know me, the more we will try to keep fighting at a high level. “
A rematch with Alvarez in 2025 seems unlikely, but fights with the likes of Edgar Berlanga, Caleb Plant and Christian Mbili do not. However, if it were up to Munguia, he would prefer to fight Alvarez’s two other conquistadors, Berlanga or Plante.
“There are many ways to reach an agreement. With any fight, there will be negotiations. That’s how we make it possible,” Munguia said.
Guiding Munguia’s career is long-time co-promoter and head of Zanfer Boxing Fernando Beltran. His job is to play his best game for Munguia.
“I think both [Berlanga and Plant] The fights are very easy to make,” Beltran told BoxingScene. “They are easy to make. I didn’t see much else. Mbili and Diego Pacheco were also mentioned. I respect Eddie Hearn, but Pacheco is not a conductor. But whoever James wants. I would love to see a rematch with Canelo. I think we were a year early. But Canelo is the boss and his actions are for his career. Maybe in the near future [we can make the David Benavidez fight]”.
Manouk Akopyan is a sports reporter, author and broadcast journalist whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, and the Los Angeles Times “, “Philadelphia Inquirer”, “Ring” magazine and other media. He has been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manuk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached via X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, LinkedIn and Youtubesend email via manouk[dot]Akopian[at]gmail.com or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.
