Jaime Munguia progresses against Liam Smith, wins by UD

Jaime Munguia jumped onto the boxing scene in May by winning the WBO super welterweight title, but the jury was out if he’s worthy of being a champion.

Jaime Munguia is a bit of a boxing anomaly. He almost appeared out of nowhere. Munguia quietly amassed of record of 28-0 before he landed a title shot against Sadam Ali in May. He decisively beat up Ali and stopped him in four rounds. Just like that, a no-name Munguia became WBO super welterweight champion at the age of 21.

We know Munguia is big at 6-feet tall and that he has a powerful punch, but his durability and skill as a boxer were still question marks. Munguia put some of those questions to rest when he successfully defended his title against former titlist Liam “Beefy” Smith.

Smith took the center of the ring in round one. Munguia didn’t retreat, but he had to move around Smith instead of attacking him straight on. Smith’s hand speed made things difficult for Munguia. Every time Munguia rushed in, Smith caught him with a straight counter right. Munguia got his shots in, but Smith proved early on to be a higher quality opponent than Ali.

Munguia’s punches started to find their mark in round two. He opened up his arsenal with looping power shots and many hit Smith on the chin. Munguia’s problem is that he telegraphs his punches too often and Smith was able to counter with power shots of his own. This was a very competitive round. I think Munguia slightly edged it out.

Smith bullied Munguia around the ring for the opening minute of the third round. Munguia fought back, but his defensive liabilities were exposed. He backed up straight and ducked his head forward when attempting to dodge punches. Smith timed Munguia well and beat him to the punch. Munguia’s face started to show the marks of Smith’s work. This was a definitive Smith round.

Munguia landed a beautiful left hook, right uppercut combination early in the fourth round. Smith took those punches well, but he took the fourth off. He was on his back foot for most of the round. As bad as Munguia looked in the third, he made up for it with a strong performance in the fourth.

Munguia’s confidence skyrocketed in the fifth. He came out from his corner throwing one-hitter quitters. Smith caught most of them on the gloves, but he constantly retreated. Smith couldn’t generate power on his punches moving backward. Munguia took control of the fight in this round. His power and youth dented Smith’s armor.

The sixth round was all Munguia. He started out landing straight rights, but then hurt Smith with a series of right and left uppercuts. Smith started to counter Munguia’s punches. He landed several nice shots to Munguia’s body, but he got sloppy. Munguia caught Smith with a left hook that dropped Smith with 30 seconds left in the round. He got to his feet at eight, but he barely made it out of the round.

Munguia intelligently kept his offense in check in round seven. He didn’t push for a knockout initially. He picked his spots carefully and hurt Smith midway through the round. Munguia’s boxing IQ grew in this round. He fought like a seasoned veteran and didn’t over-commit to getting a knockout. Munguia banked another round.

Munguia took the eighth round off. His output dropped dramatically. He had very little experience going into the later rounds, so taking this round off was smart. Munguia appeared fatigued, but so did Smith. Max Kellerman mentioned that Munguia looked “arm weary.”

Munguia badly hurt Smith early in round nine with a left hook to the body. Smith shelled up and ate a minute’s worth of Munguia’s punches. There was a break in the action to have dangling tape cut from Munguia’s glove. Smith needed it and looked briefly refreshed from the extra time, but then Munguia poured it on. They traded punches as the round came to a close.

Smith started off the 10th round well. He kept Munguia at bay with jabs. Smith kept rolling on the side of his left ankle. Something appeared wrong with it, but he continued to fight. Munguia threw haymakers with 20 seconds left, but Smith may have won the round with his activity.

Munguia looked sloppy in the 11th, but he still pushed forward aggressively. Smith tagged Munguia with some nice punches, but he couldn’t hurt Munguia. At this point, Munguia’s punches lost their pop. He was too tired to put Smith away. It was a close round that could’ve gone either way. It didn’t matter though, because  Smith needed a knockout to win at this point.

There’s no doubt that Munguia faded in the championship rounds. Smith looked better conditioned than Munguia in the 12th, but Munguia was too strong. Smith’s punches bounced off Munguia as he continuously attacked Smith with reckless abandon. Both men gave a strong account of their courage and skills. They fought to the very last bell. Smith was physically overmatched, but he never gave up and ended the fight throwing punches.

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Munguia won the fight by a clear unanimous decision. He beat a former champion in Smith and proved he could go 12 rounds. Munguia needed this experience to take the next step in his career. He’s a young fighter and he’s got a lot more to learn, but Munguia has potential. He just needs to have the patience to let it develop. Munguia’s not ready for the likes of Jarrett Hurd yet, but he has time to get there. This was a solid performance for Munguia