Jaime Munguia outclasses Armando Resendiz to win WBA 168-pound title
Munguia grew to become champion in a second division as a result of he outboxed Armando Resendiz and received their 12-round championship conflict by unanimous resolution on the David Benavidez-Gilberto Ramirez undercard at T-Mobile Arena.
Tijuana’s Munguia defeated Resendiz by scores of 120-108 (Glenn Feldman), 119-109 (Max DeLuca) and 117-111 (Eric Cheek) and received the WBA tremendous middleweight title from his fellow Mexican.
With Alvarez shouting directions and cheering him on from ringside, Munguia – who now works with Alvarez’s career-long coach, Eddy Reynoso – boxed successfully, typically off his again foot, in opposition to an aggressive Resendiz.
The crowd booed a number of occasions when Munguia moved quite than participating, however his safer, smarter technique served the previous WBO junior middleweight champion properly.
The enhancing Munguia upped his file to 46-2 (35 KOs). Resendiz dropped to 16-3 (11 KOs).
Munguia, 29, and Resendiz, 27, each ended lengthy layoffs within the co-feature earlier than Benavidez challenged Ramirez for his WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles.
Munguia fought for the primary time since final May 3, when he avenged his surprising knockout loss to Bruno Surace by successful their rematch unanimously on factors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association detected an antagonistic discovering in certainly one of Munguia’s performance-enhancing drug assessments after he defeated Surace, however he was cleared of wrongdoing by the British Boxing Board of Control, which regulated the occasion.
Munguia informed The Ring that his false optimistic end result for testosterone metabolites was triggered by a contaminated complement.
Resendiz returned 11 months after he produced The Ring’s “Upset of the Year,” a unanimous factors victory over former IBF champ Caleb Plant on May 31 at close by Michelob ULTRA Arena. Plant was a 20-1 favourite to defeat Resendiz.
Almost a 12 months later, Resendiz struggled to counteract Munguia’s motion and selective mixture punching.
Munguia lastly buzzed Resendiz when he landed a left-right mixture that despatched Resendiz stumbling backward with slightly below 1:10 remaining within the twelfth spherical. Resendiz recovered and finally threw laborious punches again at Munguia.
An correct Munguia opened up together on Resendiz a number of occasions throughout a tenth around the challenger received convincingly. Resendiz did not appear bothered by any of Munguia’s punches, however Munguia’s momentum was apparent in these three minutes.
Munguia rocked Resendiz with a proper that knocked him backward with slightly below a minute on the clock within the ninth spherical. A tough-charging Munguia drilled Resendiz with one other proper that snapped his head again simply earlier than the bell sounded to finish the ninth.
Resendiz and Munguia traded flush pictures throughout a spirited alternate that started with roughly 40 seconds to go within the seventh spherical. They took these punches properly, nevertheless, simply as they’d carried out in the course of the first six rounds.
Resendiz backed Munguia into the ropes with slightly below 1:20 on the clock within the sixth spherical and unloaded uppercuts and a left to his physique that made Munguia transfer away.
Munguia caught Resendiz with a proper hand that knocked him off steadiness within the center minute of the fifth spherical. That did not forestall Resendiz from urgent the motion for the remainder of the fifth, considerably ineffectively.
Resendiz and Munguia traded on the within in the course of the second half of the fourth spherical. Both boxers landed laborious punches throughout that stretch, though neither fighter appeared harm at any level.
Munguia landed lefts to Resendiz’s physique towards the tip of what was a aggressive third spherical.
Munguia bought the perfect of an entertaining alternate that started with a few minute on the clock within the second spherical. His proper hand backed up Resendiz throughout that sequence, although Resendiz returned to his entrance foot and snapped Munguia’s head again with a stiff jab about 30 seconds later.
Keith Idec is a senior author and columnist for The Ring. He will be reached on X @idecboxing.
