Jaime Munguia’s middleweight debut brought up all the concerns that had tailed him at 154: a slipshod defense, sloppy punches and an inconsistent jab. But none of them, alas, would jeopardize the Mexican on this night against Gary O’Sullivan.
After a rocky start, Munguia, a former junior middleweight titleholder, eventually took control of the 12-round fight, breaking down O’Sullivan en route to an 11th round stoppage in front of a partisan crowd at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Munguia unleashed a barrage of punches in the final round, including a strafing right hand that dropped O’Sullivan for the first time in the fight. At that point his corner threw in the white towel. Referee Mark Calo-Oy stopped the bout at 2:17 of the 11th.
Asked to rate his performance, Munguia said “I would give myself about a 8 or 9.”
Up until the middle rounds, the veteran O’Sullivan had some success exposing Munguia’s inherent weaknesses. The Irishman stepped forward for most of the fight, landing some consequential straight right hands as Munguia loaded up on his own punches. Toward the end of Round 2, O’Sullivan caught Munguia’s attention with a mean right hand and followed it up with a couple of 1-2 combinations.
Munguia’s hulking build allowed him to overpower his opponents at 154, but it was clear he could not do the same with O’Sullivan. Munguia acknowledged afterward that he opened himself the most when he threw his flurries.
“I was kind of sure and unsure,” said the 23-year-old, referring to his game plan, “because when I had him hurt was when he would throw hard. So I waited for him to get tired and then go for the finish.”
Munguia (35-0, 28 KOs) perhaps benefited from landing several low blows, two of which forced O’Sullivan (30-4, 21 KOs) to take a knee in Rounds 6 and 7. Calo-Oy docked a point from Munguia in Round 6. In the late rounds, Munguia began breaking down O’Sullivan, who appeared to be on unsteady legs.
The new weight might’ve helped Munguia in terms of stamina, but it’s clear that he still needs to shore up his defense, a perpetually weak area that an elite middleweight will have no problem taking advantage of. The fact that he struggled visibly at times with O’Sullivan, who is no more than a B-minus-level fighter, speaks volumes. Still, that did not dissuade Munguia from calling out the division’s titleholders.
“I want to fight against the best of the division,” he said, “whether that’s Canelo (Alvarez), (Gennadiy) Golovkin, or (Jermall) Charlo.”
Munguia’s handlers, Golden Boy and Zanfer Promotions, may want to slam the brakes on their charge. 2020 should be another year of development; the lions can wait.