Jaime Munguia maintained his unblemished resumé in Anaheim, California on Saturday evening, but it was not easy. Through four rounds, his opponent, Jimmy Kelly, was able to use his quickness and sharp defense to keep Munguia on his heels. In fact, his early success led many to believe that Kelly had taken an early lead on the scorecards. However, Kelly’s success was short-lived as Munguia sent him to the canvas with a left hook in the fifth round. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Munguia continues to pressure Kelly throughout the fifth round until the referee was forced to stop the fight.
“My strategy was to move and try to frustrate him,” Kelly said after the fight.
“He’s a strong, patient fighter. But, he just stayed calm and found the opportunity. It was my daughter’s birthday and I missed it which broke my heart. I thought I would win but now I have to go back and explain why I lost.”
At 25 years old, Munguia has won a super welterweight title and amassed a record of 40-0 with 32 knockouts. Now, many fans and observers are pushing for Munguia to take on a bigger challenge. After his most recent fight, the Mexican boxer challenged WBC Middleweight Champion Jermall Charlo to a fight.
“I think this fight helped me out a lot. I’m ready to go back to 160 to fight for a world title or move to 168. I’m ready for any challenge. There are a lot of people who are supporting me,” Munguia commented.
“I want to say what Oscar [De La Hoya] said for Charlo to grow some balls and stop hiding behind Haymon. I think it would be great for boxing. We hope that by the end of the year we can get a big fight.”
Jaime Munguía drops Kelly THREE times & finishes the show ?#MunguíaKelly pic.twitter.com/uFKPsoa6l5
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) June 12, 2022
