Jaime Munguia’s decision to fight four times in 2024 may have cost him as he lost in the sixth round to Bruno Surace last Saturday night at the Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico. This was a perfect example of cherry picking gone wrong.
overestimation of oneself
Former super middleweight world title challenger Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) became greedy, opted for a fourth fight this year, and the little-known Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) took advantage by knocking out the Mexican fighter in front of his fans in Tijuana. This was supposed to be a celebration of Munguia, but what a disaster.
Munguia appeared heavier than usual in the ring and did not appear to have trained as hard as he had in his previous fights this year against Erik Bazinyan, Canelo Alvarez and John Ryder. Apparently Jaime assumed he would defeat Surace with no problem, but man was he wrong.
You could tell early on that Surace was going to be a problem after he was eliminated in the second round. The Frenchman stood up and landed a lightning-quick direct flight right in front of Munguia’s head, who said, “Wow, where did that come from?” Nobody in the 168-pound class throws punches like Surace, and Munguia didn’t see what shots he was throwing right hand.
The only reason the fight didn’t end sooner was because 26-year-old Bruno didn’t let go of his hands. He mostly defended all of Jaime’s comments, which was understandable. Munguia showed no respect for Surace in the ring, throwing combinations and trying to impress the Mexican fans with a quick knockout.
Bruno Surace: “I know he is an excellent boxer. So we worked on our counterattacks,” Surace said. “He is a true warrior. I would like to thank him for the opportunity. That was a great experience for me. Middleweight is my true weight class. But we’ll see if (a second fight against Munguia) can happen.”
A hype job?
It would be a bad idea for Munguia’s Top Rank promoter to organize a rematch with Surace. In a second fight, this clever man will send him into oblivion, and Munguia is not good enough to defeat him.
If Jaime had real skills, they could reunite him with Surace and expect him to avenge his loss. Mexican fighter Munguia can’t do that. He was always protected throughout his eleven-year career. Munguia’s career would disappear if he fought Surace again because he would likely lose. The Frenchman is smarter than him and will score another KO.
Munguia has always been a hype job. He wasn’t ranked among the killers in any of the three divisions he competed in, from 154 to 168. When he got the Canelo fight, he lost. He and Edgar Berlanga are the same types of fighters manufactured records. It was just a deception.
This defeat puts Munguia’s career in a bad place; He cannot afford another loss. His promoters at Top Rank need to rebuild him, but they need to do so in a way that pits him against big-name opponents.
Hardcore boxing fans have perceived Munguia as a hype job from day one. Throughout his career, he was targeted against tomato cans in order to have a big-money fight against Canelo Alvarez. Now that Munguia has finally achieved his goal of winning that mega payday fight against Alvarez on May 4th earlier this year, his supporters are stuck with a deeply flawed man who still needs to be protected like he always was.
What’s next?
– Trevor McCumby
– Edgar Berlanga
– Jermall Charlo
– Bektemir Melikuziev
Jaime Munguia will be back 🇲🇽🙏 pic.twitter.com/jur4ltbZCu
— Top Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2024
Unreal finish in slow motion 😳 #MunguiaSurace pic.twitter.com/2bE9JOTF6E
— Top Boxing (@trboxing) December 15, 2024
