Jaime Munguia and chemistry with trainer Erik Morales

Jaime Munguia enters his seventh fight with former boxing great Erik Morales as his trainer. Munguia reveals why he trusts Morales with his boxing future. 

Middleweight Jaime Munguia and boxing legend Erik Morales come from the same hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, but their communal bond wasn’t Munguia’s primary motivation for entrusting Morales with his boxing development and future.

Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) is days away from his June 11 bout against England’s Jimmy Kelly. Morales corners Munguia for the seventh time since Munguia switched to Morales before his 2019 matchup with Patrick Allotey. He won that contest via round 4 knockout and collected five victories and four KOs after the Allotey bout.

Before joining forces with Morales, Munguia performed subpar against Denis Hogan. Many felt that Hogan deserved the decision victory over Munguia, but Munguia was fortunate to walk away with a majority decision win.

Two fights later, Munguia would move from super welterweight to middleweight, relinquishing his WBO title, but hiring Morales as his trainer was his first move. The pairing has proved successful and continues to prosper.

“Erik is very knowledgeable in regards to everything in boxing and has really affected my career in a very positive way,” Munguia said to FanSided through an interpreter. “And we have really good chemistry, and we have a lot of great teamwork.”

Morales established his boxing I.Q. throughout his 19-year Hall-of-Fame career that saw him win world titles in four different divisions. Anyone who could hand Daniel Zaragoza, Marco Antonio Barrera, and a prime Manny Pacquiao losses could help out any boxer.

‘El Terrible’s’ résumé speaks for itself, but the quality outside of his knowledge that Munguia believes makes him a special trainer is his honesty.

“You know, one of the big reasons I chose to go with Erik was because Erik is a really knowledgeable fighter,” Munguia said. “He knows a lot about boxing. He’s also a very technical fighter. And he was very, very successful in his career. Throwing great combinations, very smart in the ring.

“And one of the things that I like about Erik is that he brings on that knowledge to my team, but also Erik is very honest with me in terms of our training. Erik is not afraid to tell me, you know, you’re doing this wrong, or this needs more improvement. Erik tells me either you’re doing it right or you’re doing it wrong. He’s not afraid to tell me the truth. And that’s something that I really value.”

Watch Jaime Munguia vs. Jimmy Kelly on Saturday, June 11, on DAZN at 8 p.m. ET

It appears that Munguia doesn’t want a “yes man” or anything about his abilities sugarcoated. Munguia prizes blunt truthfulness and needs that if he wants to achieve all of his dreams.

“Erik is a legend. So that’s always like a big deal to me,” Munguia said. “But you know, Erik is a very honest person and has always been a very sincere and honest person from the beginning. So that is something that’s really big for me that I really value as a fighter.”

Munguia held the WBO super welterweight title for over a year and hopes to surpass that success as a middleweight or maybe as a super middleweight. His bout against Kelly is scheduled at 165 pounds.

Munguia desires a mega bout against the likes of middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. He revealed to FanSided that he and Charlo agreed to a bout, but the business of boxing got in the way.

“If it was up to the fighters, you know, they would all fight each other,” Munguia said. “They would all face each other. It’s just been more circumstantial. Me and Charlo had agreed to the fight originally. And unfortunately, that didn’t happen because of the streaming platforms, Showtime and DAZN, couldn’t come to an agreement. So it’s not about avoiding each other or running from each other. It’s circumstantial.”

With that deal falling through, Munguia takes on Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. Since this matchup is scheduled at 165, Munguia can test his body and capabilities at a higher weight class.

“It was an intentional decision because I’m not fighting for any title or anything like that,” Munguia said. “And so this is kind of like a trial period to see how comfortable I feel at 165 because eventually, I do want to move up to 168. So this is just a good trial period to see how my body feels at a different weight class than 160.”

They say good things come to those who wait. Munguia patiently bides his time for another title, and he’s using it to find out more about himself as a fighter with Morales by his side.