Jaime Munguia is looking to accomplish something Canelo Alvarez couldn’t – a knockout of against John Ryder.
Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) and Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) will square off Jan. 27 in a super middleweight scrap at the Footprint Center in Phoenix on DAZN.
Should Munguia score a stoppage victory against the Brit, he’ll build a stronger case in garnering a shot against his Mexican countryman.
Alvarez fought Ryder in May in what he considered to be a tune-up fight. Alvarez staged the fight in his hometown of Jalisco, Mexico in front of over 50,000 fans, and even though he bloodied, bruised, and dropped the Brit for twelve rounds, the knockout escaped him.
Munguia is confident he can crush Ryder.
“I feel strong. I feel like I can knock him out. When you get inside the ring, it’s something different, but I feel I can get the knockout,” said Munguia.
To prepare for the challenge, Munguia split from fellow Tijuana native and hometown hero Erik Morales and linked up with Hall of Face coach Freddie Roach in Los Angeles.
The 27-year-old Munguia will need to have a stronger showing than he did in his last fight in June, a unanimous decision win against Sergiy Derevyanchenko. Munguia went to war with Derevyanchenko in the 2023 fight of the year and needed a dramatic final round knockdown to pull away with a points win.
Roach is predicting a stoppage win inside eight rounds and doesn’t believe Munguia’s defensive wrinkles could eventually become a liability.
Munguia is promising a revived version of himself.
“I feel different. I have a lot more confidence. I have been working hard,” said Munguia. “It’s been a fight that has been coming for a couple of years. We want the best at 168 pounds. John Ryder is one of them.”
Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.