Jaime Munguia faced undefeated Erik Bazinyan on Friday and knocked him out in the tenth round of their fight at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The former WBO junior middleweight world titleholder applied relentless pressure throughout the fight until his left hook along the ropes allowed the Canadian-based Armenian to be counted out at 2:36.

The victory came in Munguia’s (44-1, 35 knockouts) first fight under up-to-date promoter Top Rank and allowed him to rebound from the first loss of his career, a unanimous decision loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.

But for the 27-year-old Munguia, the fight was no ordinary, idle exercise.

“It was a fight I had to fight intelligently. He’s powerful. He hits challenging. So we had to break him down and watch out for body shots. And in the 10th round, I decided to go all out. And that’s how we got the knockout,” said Munguia, who is ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 168 pounds.

SHOW. STOP.

JAIME MUNGUIA IS BACK 🇲🇽 photo:twitter.com/uKWfIFtbvY

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 21, 2024

Munguia began to pull away at the time of the stoppage, with the judges having him ahead 88-83, 87-84 and 86-85 at the time of the fight’s conclusion. Bazinyan fared best on David Sutherland’s undercard, winning four of the first five rounds, then losing four straight before the knockout.

“I felt like I was winning. I felt like he was very frustrated with my jab, right hook and counterattacks. He was tired. Suddenly I was caught. I don’t know what happened there,” Bazinyan said.

Bazinyan, 29, started the first round with determination, effectively keeping Munguia at bay with jabs and overhand rights. Bazinyan, who respected Quebec trainer Marc Ramsay in his corner, kept control of the distance in the first two rounds as Munguia tried to set the pace in the third. Bazinyan regained control of the boxing in the fourth round when he began doubling and tripling his jabs, catching Munguia whenever he held his head still for too long, breaking his rhythm.

Munguia finally got his bearings in the sixth round, when he began to roll under Bazinyan’s jabs and move in with left hooks around the guard. Bazinyan, admitting he was outmatched when they were close, tried to keep his guard tight rather than trade blows. The body shots were starting to ponderous Bazinyan, who was fighting in the first 12-round of his 11-year pro career.

Bazinyan was hurt for the first time in the seventh round by a right hook that connected as he attempted his right hook, landing flat, followed by a left hook that sent him into the ropes. Bazinyan showed incredible recovery skills as he regained his balance and began looking for opportunities to counter, particularly with a right jab.

As Bazinyan’s blow began to weaken, Munguia’s pressure began to break him.

Munguia used the roll that had previously opened up his opponent to greater effect in the tenth round, hurting Bazinyan with a hook while he was standing upright. Referee Thomas Taylor advised Bazinyan to start fighting, which he did, but his willingness to return fire opened him up to the left hook that led to the final sequence of the fight.

Munguia expressed interest in fighting other top 168-pound fighters in the future, including RING No. 1 contender Christian Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), a Montreal-based contender who is co-promoted by Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger Management. Munguia also mentioned Edgar Berlanga and Caleb Plant.

“There are great fights and we will also have great wars.”

By: Sean Crose

As almost every fight fan knows, two-time multi-title heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will be fighting Daniel Dubois this weekend for Dubois’ IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium in London. A hugely critical clash of two substantial, powerful men, Joshua-Dubois is a huge deal in the UK and a hugely engaging one for those of us living overseas. Joshua has finally rebounded from a world-class career slump thanks to a recent trainer (Ben Davison) and some energetic performances. Dubois, on the other hand, arguably dropped Oleksandr Usyk with one punch when they fought a while back (the punch was deemed a low blow, allowing Usyk to win the fight). What’s more, Dubois has won two in a row in the same time frame.

So… who will win this 12-round fight? Joshua is the bigger favorite with the better resume, but Dubois holds the IBF title and nearly beat Usyk, a fighter who has beaten Joshua twice. Dubois has good jabs, solid footwork, and of course the power to knock down a wall. No one can erase the record in which all but two of the man’s many victories have come inside the distance.

Joshua has the advantage of height, though. As good as Dubois’ jab is, Joshua’s jab is probably better. What’s more, Davison has clearly shown Joshua how to avoid the massive punches that have hurt him throughout his career. Now, the man fights with a patience and confidence he’s lacked for some time. To win, Dubois will have to get inside… and get inside without being punished by Joshua, who can knock him out with one punch and who has some vicious body shots of his own.

Perhaps the most critical thing to consider is that Dubois hasn’t fought at this level. Sure, he’s had some substantial fights, but he’s never been on the other side of a London ring with Joshua on the other side. In other words, Joshua can fill them. Considering that close to 100,000 people are expected to show up this Saturday to watch the Joshua-Dubois fight live, it’s worth noting that Joshua will be here early. Dubois won’t. Things like that make a difference.

None of this is to say that Dubois can’t pull off a surprise. The talented and confident champion certainly can. I don’t think he’ll pull it off, though, which is why I’m predicting Joshua will win by knockout in the 11th round.

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Emiliano Vargas’ candidacy for Prospect of the Year took on a up-to-date dimension Friday after a well-rounded, diverse performance that saw him stop Irishman Larry Fryers in the fifth round.

Vargas (12-0, 10 KOs) showed off skills that were not expected from the 20-year-old, landing a powerful, deadly right hook, quick two-handed punches and relentless focus on the body and head.

“I had success with body shots,” he said. “I had to change that. I want to finish guys, but you can’t just do that.”

A powerful left hook split Fryers’ nose in the third round, and Vargas’ body blows opened up head combinations that dampened Fryers’ aggression and widened the points gap.

Fryers began bleeding under his left eye in the fourth round due to the sustained barrage. If Vargas continues to develop his knockout power, he compensates with a varied attack and activity that made Fryers suffer from body blows.

In the fifth round, the fighter was knocked down by left and right punches to the body, followed by a powerful left punch to the side of the head, which caused the referee to quickly end the fight.

“These Irish are like Mexicans,” Vargas said. “They have everything.”

Former champion Fernando Vargas’ son, Emiliano Vargas, said the evening was almost a complete success because he fought the way he wanted to.

“Never a numb moment,” Vargas said. “It’s such an incredible feeling to come out this early in my career and have a night like this.”

Vargas injured his right hand from landing so many punches.

“You have to do what you have to do to win. I’m a fighter,” he said. “Gaining experience… I have to go through this test. There’s no book, no instructional video. You have to go in and do it, get hit and experience things. This was one of my best fights, action-packed. I’m very excited.”

Following the stunning knockout of Top Rank prospect Alan Garcia by Spanish virtuoso Ricardo Fernandez earlier this month, the junior lightweight knockout victory of Philippine Charly Suarez over Texan Jorge Castaneda was a bit of a mixed bag.

Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) knocked down Castaneda (17-4) early in the third round, then finished the fight with another powerful right hook at 2:22 of the third round.

Las Vegas junior lightweight DJ Zamora showed why he is nicknamed “The War Machine” by skillfully landing daunting left punches from a left-handed stance to win a unanimous decision over Gerardo Antonio Perez, 80-72, 80-72, 79-73.

The Argentine Perez (12-6-1) started the third round with aggression, which Zamora (14-0) endured, returning to his effective form. The success that Perez experienced encouraged him to keep up the pressure and in the fourth round he landed a hook that shook his head.

But Zamora was more attentive to defense, softening the impact of the brawl that Perez openly accepted. Zamora’s combinations to end the eighth round were decisive, and the pair embraced after an entertaining eight rounds, each raising a hand to the appreciative crowd.

Junior bantamweight contender Steven Navarro of Los Angeles knocked out Oscar Arroyo with a relentless series of blows to the head, earning a third-round technical knockout at 2 minutes and 35 seconds.

The 20-year-old Navarro (4-0, 2 KOs) first landed a quick jab to the head on Arroyo in the first half of the first round, then again unsettled him with powerful left hand strikes.

A combination that ended with a right hook and a challenging left punch to the top of the head knocked down Virginia’s Arroyo (3-3) again behind schedule in the second half.

Mexican Jorge Garcia Perez (31-4, 26 KOs) needed just 46 seconds to finish German Ilias Essaoudi (22-3), landing a right hook to the left side. As Essaoudi winced in pain, Perez added two powerful headbutts to force the stoppage of the super middleweight fight.

Perez and the substitute said they believed Essaoudi had broken a rib.

Tijuana’s Sebastian Hernandez (17-0, 16 KOs) punished Venezuelan Yonfrez Parejo (24-7-1) for four rounds, forcing Parejo’s corner to stop the junior featherweight fight after four rounds.