Jaime Munguia and John Ryder headlined a Golden Boy-promoted show at the Footprint Center in Phoenix, Arizona, which culminated in Munguia winning by stoppage in the ninth round on January 27th, thus heralding himself as a likely future contender for a super middleweight world title.
Mexican 168 lbs contender Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KO’s) was already winning quite clearly prior to his stoppage win over British former world title challenger John Ryder (32-7, 18 KO’s), but didn’t get through it fully unmarred as Ryder proved to be tough opposition.
Munguia first gained an advantage in the second round where he knocked down John Ryder after a first round where he established himself through a jab. After knocking Ryder down again in the fourth round, Munguia appeared to be heading to a clear victory but was still struggling somewhat with Ryder’s counters which kept him from ending the fight earlier.
Ryder’s persistence was the most prevalent tale of the tape, as despite his knockdowns the British fighter attempted to unleash bombs himself, but Munguia’s toughness allowed him to weather the storm and his improved technique made his offense more debilitating.
By the ninth round, Munguia was clearly ahead on the cards and Ryder was suffering from both fatigue and damage which resulted in two knockdowns in the round, forcing the referee to call the match to a stop. Munguia was thereafter announced the winner by technical knockout (TKO) in the ninth round.
Munguia, 27, was a former world champion at super welterweight before he moved up to middleweight for a couple of years before trying his hand at 168 lbs where Canelo Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KO’s) currently reigns as the undisputed champion.
Since all roads eventually lead to Alvarez due to him having all of the division’s titles, a future Mexican vs. Mexican clash might be on the cards if Alvarez faces Munguia, though none of the sanctioning bodies have yet chosen to enforce any mandatories to Alvarez since John Ryder became the WBO 168 lbs WBO interim champion and mandatory contender.
The rest of the fight card featured American WBO minimumweight champion Oscar Collazo (9-0, 7 KO’s) defending his title against Nicaraguan challenger Reyneris Guttierez (10-2, 2 KO’s). Collazo went on to retain his title and his unbeaten record as he stormed towards a third round knockout (KO) victory.
American women’s IBF flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora (13-0, 6 KO’s also took part on the card where she defended her title―which she won last year in October―for the first time against fellow American Christina Cruz (6-1, 0 KO’s). Fundora went on to stop Cruz in the tenth and last round of their world title match, retaining her title successfully.
The card, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, was broadcasted by global streaming service DAZN.
