Jaime Munguia made the hometown fans happy.
The middleweight contender knocked out D’Mitrius Ballard in the third round to remain unbeaten and bolster his case that he deserves a shot at a major 160-pound title in Tijuana, Mexico.
The fight was competitive for two rounds, as Munguia took time to size up his capable, experienced opponent. Then, the moment Ballard seemed vulnerable, he turned up the heat.
Jaime Munguía wins by 3rd round TKO in his homecoming 👊🇲🇽#MunguiaBallard pic.twitter.com/ulpKTRldfT
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 20, 2022
That came in Round 3, when Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) began to unload hard punches at a high rate. One of those shots — a left hook to the chin — hurt Ballard (21-1-1, 13 KOs) and led to his demise.
Mungia followed with a flurry of shots that put Ballard on his face. The American was able to get up but he immediately absorbed another barrage of unanswered punches, which led referee Juan Jose Ramirez to stop the fight.
The official time was 1:47 of Round 3.
“The plan was to get into the center of the ring and see what he wanted to do,” Munguia said through a translator afterward. “As soon as I saw that he was going to be backing up, that’s when I decided to move forward.
“That’s why [before] the third round, [trainer] Erik Morales told me to really push forward, to push him back.”
Munguia was fighting in his hometown for the first time since 2017. However, it was the first time he fought at Plaza Monumental, the arena he used to attend as a child.
That seemed to mean as much to him as the victory.
“I realized that dreams really come true,” he said. “I was remembering as a little boy sitting on top there watching Julio Cesar Chavez fight. I said then that I was going to do that.”
Munguia, a former 154-pound titleholder, is 5-0 at 160 and ranked by all four major sanctioning bodies — No. 1 by the WBC and WBO, No. 2 by the WBA.
A showdown with Demetrius Andrade (the WBO champ) might be the most likely because they’re both affiliated with DAZN. However, he’s not picky. He’d be just as happy to fight Jermall Charlo (WBC) or Gennadiy Golovkin (IBF).
“We’re ready for those elite shots,” he said. “We’re ready for the best fighters. Whoever comes.”