Jaime Munguia overcame a fifth-round onslaught from Sergiy Derevyanchenko to prove his mettle as a potential middleweight world champion.
In what Golden Boy has declared a Fight of the Year candidate, Munguia improved his position on the WBN Pound for Pound Top 50 in style.
A great fight was witnessed as the Pride of Tijuana and former world champion, Munguia, moved to 42-0, with 33 knockouts. He secured a victory against the former world title challenger at Toyota Arena in Ontario, CA.
In front of 7,647 rowdy fans, the equally matched fighters delivered an action-packed fight that brought the fans to their feet from the first round.
Both fighters delivered powerful shots to the head and body as they tried to establish dominance in the early rounds leading to Derevyanchecko hitting the canvas in the second round during the chaos, but it was ruled a slip.
Jaime Munguia beats Sergiy Derevyanchenko
Munguia took advantage of the change of pace and cornered Derevyanchenko with a flurry of power shots that visibly left the fighter shaken.
In the twelfth round, Munguia delivered a hard left hook to the body, sending Derevyanchenko to the mat.
Munguia actively pursued and tried to finish Derevyanchenko off. Still, Derevyanchenko kept his distance and was ultimately saved by the bell from Munguia’s determined attack.
Ultimately, the judges decided the fight in favor of Jaime Munguia, with scores of 115-112, 114-113, and 114-113. In addition, the win crowned him the new WBC Silver Super Middleweight Champion.
“I am very happy with the fight. It was a great victory. We made some mistakes, but we’re still here undefeated,” said Munguia. “I am thrilled with the decision.
“In reality, it took me a lot of effort to achieve it. It was difficult, but we could catch and hurt him in the tenth round. Then we dropped him in the twelfth round.
“I think we ultimately achieved victory thanks to my training. We trained hard in the gym. It’s not the same in the gym as in the ring, but we are always working hard, always trying to improve.”
Big fights
Munguia moved up a few places in the rankings with the triumph. He’s now being linked to facing Gennadiy Golovkin or fighting for one of his titles if “GGG” retires.
A future clash with Canelo Alvarez in Mexico is another option Oscar De La Hoya explores as he plots to go up against his former fighter.
