Jaime Munguia is waiting to take part in a meaningful 160-pound fight. In the meantime, he’ll have to be satisfied beating up opponents like Gonzalo Coria.
Munguia (41-0, 33 KOs) put the overmatched Argentine down twice en route to a third-round knockout Saturday night in Guadalajara, the former 154-pound champion’s third consecutive victory over a second-tier foe.
The 26-year-old Mexican had expected to face contender John Ryder last month, which would’ve been a significant matchup.
JAIME MUNGUÍA FINISHES IT IN THE THIRD ROUND 👊#MunguiaCoria pic.twitter.com/WQMleTuoIg
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 20, 2022
However, that fight fell through. And he ended up facing the overmatched Coria, who was stopped in two rounds by current titleholder Janibek Alimkhanuly in October 2020.
Munguia took a round-plus to size up Coria … and then lowered the boom.
A right hand to the face put the underdog onto his behind about two minutes into Round 2. Coria wasn’t hurt badly but he seemed skittish after the unfortunate moment, as he mostly held and moved to avoid Munguia’s heavy blows after that.
Then, late in the third and final round, Munguia landed a series of punishing body shots followed by a several more hard shots, which forced Coria to take a knee. In that position, during the count, he shook his head to indicate that he didn’t intend to get up.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:32 of Round 3.
Munguia, who has fought seven times at 160 or above, now hopes to put what amounts to tune-up fights behind him. He wants a title shot.
He has called out titleholders Gennadiy Golovkin (IBF and WBA) and Jermall Charlo (WBC). Munguia and Charlo have talked in the past but Triple-G seems to be a more likely opponent because both he and Munguia are affiliated with DAZN, which streamed the fight on Saturday.
Indeed, the 40-year-old Kazakh seems to be the primary target.
“This year we couldn’t do Charlo, but hopefully we can do it next year,” Munguia said. “But I also know that Gennadiy Golovkin has no compromises and isn’t signed with anyone. We really want to make that fight happen in May.
“Golovkin, see you in May!”