Jaime Munguia beats Erik Bazinyan, promises “great fights at 168 pounds”
Jaime Munguia took a little time to get going, but when he did, the end was near. The Mexican super middleweight star rebounded from May’s defeat to Canelo Alvarez with a 10th-round knockout Friday evening over the previously unbeaten Erik Bazinyan at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Bazinyan (32-1-1, 23 KOs) initiated the early rounds with a sharp jab followed by occasional right hands as Munguia calmly closed the distance. The 27-year-old fighting pride of Tijuana had success when he aimed at the body, but Bazinyan had his moments as well.
Then, head trainer Erik Morales urged Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs) to increase the pressure, and Munguia hurt Bazinyan with body shots in the sixth and hard rights to the head in the seventh. Bazinyan regained his composure in the following rounds, and Munguia conserved in the ninth, setting the stage for the climactic tenth.
“It was a fight I had to do intelligently. He’s strong. He hits hard. So, we had to break him down and be careful with shots to the body. And in the 10th round, that’s when I decided to come out with everything. And that’s how we got the knockout,” Munguia said. “There are great things to come, great fights at 168 pounds. There’s Caleb Plant, {Edgar} Berlanga, Christian Mbilli. There are great fights, and we will give great wars as well.”
Bazinyan said, “I felt like I was winning. I felt he was very frustrated with my jab, right hand, and counters. He was getting tired. All of a sudden, I got caught. I don’t know what happened there.”