Hall of Fame fighter turned coach Erik Morales is adamant that the pupil he trains can beat the brakes off another future Canastota-bound boxer.
“Jaime [Munguia] is a young fighter who is pushing hard, and I can’t see why we couldn’t win [against Gennadiy Golovkin],” Erik Morales told IZQUIERDAZO. “And I dare to say that [Munguia] would knock him out.
“They are not in the same strength now. In his last fight [against Canelo Alvarez], Golovkin looked diminished, despite the fact that he closed in better form [than Alvarez]. But [Golovkin] looks tired. He is not the same Golovkin as he was two or three years ago. He is a great athlete, a great fighter, but Jaime is pushing strong. He is 26 [years old]. He has a future ahead of him.”
Munguia (41-0, 33 KOs) and Golovkin (42-2-1, 37 KOs) have been linked for a potential bout dating back to 2018 when a then-green, 154-pound Munguia came close to being a late replacement opponent for Alvarez’s scheduled middleweight matchup against Triple G.
Munguia has since risen through the ranks against middling opposition, and the former super welterweight titleholder is still looking to make the leap at middleweight.
Golovkin will turn 41 years old in April, but the past-his-prime star is an active 160-pound WBA titleholder and widely considered the greatest middleweight of his generation.
“[Former Golovkin trainer] Abel Sanchez came out a couple of days ago to say that [Golovkin] would kill [Munguia] or something like that,” Morales said. “I know that everybody has an opinion. I know Jaime well. I think he has enough skills to face anyone – GGG or Charlo.
“I understand Abel’s position, I get his point. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. But I don’t see any reason why he could be right in the way he thinks. It’s true that we haven’t had a strong level opponent in the last two years, but that doesn’t mean that we can not [beat Golovkin]. We are working to fight against the best opponents. Jaime is ready. He has speed, strength. He has everything that is needed to fight toe to toe against anyone you name me.”
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.