Jaime Munguia is set for his middleweight return following a one-fight departure.
The former WBO junior middleweight titlist not only returns to the 160-pound division but will also resume his role as one of the sport’s most active fighters. Tijuana’s Munguia will face Argentina’s Gonzalo Gaston Coria atop a November 19 DAZN show from Guadalajara, Mexico.
“Everyone has been anxiously waiting for Jaime Munguia’s return to the ring,” said Hall of Fame former six-division champion Oscar De La Hoya, chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “We are excited for him to put on a show for all his fans live in Mexico and worldwide on DAZN so he can end the year with a bang and start 2023 hungrier than ever.”
The bout will mark the third of a busy 2022 campaign for Munguia that included a brief stop near super middleweight where he knocked out Jimmy ‘Kilrain’ Kelly on June 11 in Anaheim, California. His last fight at middleweight came on February 19 when he knocked out unbeaten D’Mitrius Ballard in the third round of their DAZN headliner in his Tijuana hometown.
The combination of feeling comfortable at the weight and the promise of a mandatory shot at the WBO middleweight title looming ahead, Munguia is prepared to reclaim his place among the division’s best.
“We are prepared for this new challenge,” said Munguia. “We have never stopped training. Coria is not a simple rival, he will want to come and beat me in my home country. Once we get through this test, I hope to kick start 2023 with a big fight that all my fans are waiting for.”
Coria (21-5, 8KOs) fights in Mexico for just the second time. His previous trip resulted in a twelve-round, unanimous decision win over Marco Reyes in June 2019, though met with a 16-month ring absence followed by a devastating second-round knockout defeat to Janibek Alimkhanuly who now holds the WBO middleweight title.
The 25-year-old southpaw from Cordoba, Argentina has since won five of his last six including three straight heading into another dangerous assignment.
“I am more than prepared for this fight to go up against a great champion like Jaime Munguia,” said Coria. “We are preparing with all our energy and we are coming for a huge victory.”
Should the night go as expected for Munguia, the plan will then be to reload in 2023 with hopes of adding a second divisional title to the collection. For now, the emphasis has been placed on getting him back in the ring rather than going cold for the rest of the year.
“We are very happy to see Jaime back in the ring for the last time this year,” said Fernando Beltran, president of Zanfer Boxing, Munguia’s career-long lead promoter. “Jaime is always ready to fight, and this is not the exception. We are sure that 2023 will bring even bigger fights and challenges, and we are more than ready for them.”
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox