Jamie Munguia fills void on Mexican Independence Day weekend, Romero Duno dominates

Jaime Munguia (33-0, 26 KOs) set out to display his improvements with new trainer and Hall-of-Famer Erik Morales in his corner. Patrick Allottey (40-4, 30 KOs) was matched up against Munguia due to his experience and to give Munguia a chance to work on fine-tuning his craft. The crowd of 7,311 at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California was electric, as they cheered loudly for the Mexican native Jaime Munguia. The fans wanted a great showing from Munguia, and he delivered.

In the first round, Munguia stalked, playing the aggressor. He remained patient, and didn’t force his way inside. Allotey stood his ground throughout much of the round, and landed some well-timed shots down the middle. Munguia started to make his way inside in the middle of the round, and delivered a few thudding hooks that discouraged Allotey from continuing his attack.

Munguia began to step on the gas in the second, using his jab well and keeping Allotey at bay. Allottey tried to use movement and angles to confuse Munguia, but Munguia remained composed and refused to panic. Munguia remained at range, and didn’t throw aimless punches just because he was being pressured.

Munguia scored two knockdowns in the third round, leaving Allotey discouraged, and the Ghanaian native lacked the same spirit he had in the first two rounds. Munguia trapped Allotey in the corner, landing a left hook that put him on the canvas. Allotey was bothered by Munguia’s relentless body attack, and started to appear tentative. Allotey hunched over, and referee Jack Reiss granted him time to recover, because some of Munguia’s punches were slightly below the belt. Even though Allotey was able to rest, Munguia began to press the action once again and knocked Allotey down with a powerful left hook for the second knockdown of round three.

In the fourth, Munguia began attacking the body again, making Allotey retreat. While backing up, Allotey took a knee (a delayed reaction after getting hit to the body) and got up at the count of eight. Allotey survived the round, but his corner elected to throw in the towel.

At that point, Allotey was only going to face further punishment and his corner did their job to protect their fighter. Following the fight, Allotey was sent to the hospital, further confirming that his corner made the right decision. The crowd was fired up about Munguia’s knockout victory, and he clearly filled the void that Canelo Alvarez left. Canelo typically fights on the annual Mexican Independence Day Weekend Card, but Munguia stepped in and put on a quality show.

When asked about whether he felt a noticeable difference after working with his new trainer Erik Morales, Munguia claimed that his skills are the result of several trainers that have worked with him. His win against Allotey marks the final time he defends his WBO Junior Middleweight World Title, and he plans to move up to middleweight.

Munguia is willing to face Gennady Golovkin, and the fight can easily be made due to both fighters being featured on the DAZN streaming platform. He was offered the Golovkin fight on May 5th, 2018, but the California Athletic Commission wouldn’t allow Munguia to face Golovkin since they didn’t see him as a viable competitor at the time. In the Commission’s defence, Munguia hadn’t faced anyone who possessed remotely near the ability of Golovkin at the time. It seemed risky to put him in the ring against a long-reigning middleweight world champion. But now, Munguia is absolutely capable of competing with Golovkin, and nobody would have an issue with that match-up. If Munguia continues to sharpen his craft, he can be a problem for the best fighters at middleweight.

Despite Ivan Delgado weighing in at 139.6 pounds, the lightweight fight between Romero Duno and Delgado remained intact. Some hoped that Duno would end up facing off against rising-star Ryan Garcia, due to Garcia’s opponent Avery Sparrow getting arrested and not showing up at Friday’s weigh-in. Unfortunately, the fight could not be made because of the short timetable and financial disputes. Duno’s side accepted, but Garcia wasn’t satisfied with the offer.

Duno came out the gate firing, throwing hard to Delgado’s body. He pressed the action throughout the round, sending Delgado to the ropes on multiple occasions. At the closing moments of the first round, Delgado landed a hard counter right hand that got the crowd’s attention. The first round was Duno’s, but Delgado proved that he was not going to be an easy walk-through when he finished the round strongly.

In the second, Duno showed why Ryan Garcia’s team wasn’t willing to put Garcia in the ring with him on a day’s notice. Duno battered Delgado to the body, and kept throwing a steady jab that blocked Delgado’s vision. His activity proved too much for Delgado to cope with, and Delgado struggled to get in a rhythm.

Delgado came back strongly in the third, answering back after Duno began the exchanges. But, by the end of the round, Delgado began to tire and failed to follow up after Duno executed his combinations. Duno ramped up his attack in the fourth round, leaving Delgado winded and retreating to the ropes on a few occasions. Nevertheless, Delgado managed to land a nice combination and landed a few power punches that received Duno’s attention before the final bell.

The fifth round proved to be the most competitive, with Delgado landing more punches than in any previous round. But Duno likely won the round, since he had the more consistent offensive attack and landed more often. Also, Duno landed a flush straight-right as the bell rang..

In rounds six and seven, Delgado was breathing through the mouth and seemed noticeably tired. Duno’s rapid pace started to slow down a bit, but his attack remained effective. Delgado began to bleed from the nose, and was backing up for the majority of rounds six and seven.

Following the seventh round, Delgado’s corner called an end to the fight in order to preserve their fighter. Delgado was losing virtually every round, and it didn’t appear to be his night. Despite not getting to see rising lightweight star Ryan Garcia, Duno pleased fans with his constant barrages and quality body attack. To his credit, Delgado remained tough throughout the match, and probably could have lasted all ten rounds if the corner hadn’t thrown in the towel. Following the bout, Duno put on a shirt that read “Garcia Stop Running,” calling out Garcia for not accepting the offer to fight him on short notice. The pressure is now on Ryan Garcia to take on Duno, and fans are surely chomping at the bit to see the two in the ring.