JAIME Munguia bounced back from his first career loss, stopping Erik Bazinyan in Round 10 at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale. Returning to boxing under the sole tutelage of Erik Morales, Munguia’s loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez has now been viewed as a learning experience, with Munguia showing composure and patience in dispatching Bazinyan, an Armenian based in Canada.

Bazinyan’s left jab worked well. All he had to do was land a right hook. After four rounds, ESPN’s Mark Kriegel had the underdog on the cards. It was a different fight as Munguia planted his feet and landed solid punches. Bazinyan was down in the seventh round, and Jaime quickly picked up the pace as the remaining rounds ticked by.

Jaime Munguia’s Fight Eric Bazinyan

Caught by a powerful left hook, Bazinyan was hurt and landed ponderous punches in the 10th round as the Mexican kept the pressure on. Referee Thomas Taylor counted Bazinyan, bent over on his knees, at 2-36 in the 10th round. Munguia was ahead by a margin when the fight was stopped 88-83, 87-84 and 86-85.

Munguia improved to 44-1 (35 KOs), while Bazinyan lost for the first time, dropping to 32-1-1 (23 KOs). The winner named 168-pound contenders Caleb Plant and Edgar Berlanga, who both fought last weekend. Christian Mbilli is also on the radar.

Earlier in the evening, Richard Torrez defeated the slippery Joey Dawejko by disqualification in round five. The Philadelphia veteran was ejected from the ring by referee Wes Melton for excessive spitting out of his mouthpiece.

Emiliano Vargas pummeled Larry Fryers, winning by knockout in the fifth round after one-sided blows to the Irishman’s head and body. A pointed left hook finally knocked the brave Larry flat on his back.

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.