By Dan Ambrose: Jaime Munguia and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya have a three-fighter shortlist for the next opponent after Jaime’s10 round headliner bout against Sergiy “The Technician” Derevyanchenko (14-4, 10 KOs) on June 10th at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
(Photo credit: Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions)
It’s obviously not a good idea for Munguia (41-0, 33 KOs) to be looking past the 37-year-old Derevyanchenko because he might have enough left to pull off an upset in this fight. The event will be shown live on DAZN, starting at 5:00 p.m. PT/ 8:00 p.m. ET.
The 26-year-old Munguia has been criticized for turning down world title shots in the past against the likes of Demetrius Andrade and Janibek Alimkhanuly.
Turning down title shots is never a good look for a fighter. Still, Munguia seems to have been waiting on a big payday fight against Gennadiy Golovkin and Canelo Alvarez to fall into his lap forever. Still, it’s never happened and doesn’t look like it ever will.
Munguia’s shortlist:
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Jermall Charlo
- David Benavidez
Obviously, the two guys that De La Hoya wants most of all for Munguia are Golovkin and Charlo, as those are winnable fights. Benavidez is way out of Munguia’s league, so it’s likely that the whole purpose of De La Hoya mentioning his name is to get attention for Jaime.
“We want that fight against [Jermall Charlo. If that can’t happen, Munguia will fight Golovkin or David Benavidez,” said De La Hoya.
It would be a good idea for Munguia and De La Hoya to forget about the 41-year-old Golovkin because it’s highly unlikely he’s going to bother fighting him. Golovkin might not ever fight again, and if he does, it’ll be a big name. Munguia isn’t a big name unfortunately for him.
“It’s a great matchup. Look, Jaime is a fan favorite. He always puts
on a great show, and he wants to fight against the very best,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV about Jaime Munguia.
The fact that the WBC has been holding the [middlweight] title hostage for two years, it’s an injustice for boxing and for Jaime and whoever is next in line, for [Carlos] Adames.
“Jaime wants to fight everybody. He wants to fight the very best. He wants to fight GGG. I don’t know if he’s retired or not. He wants to
fight GGG. Why not make that fight? Both guys need it. Both guys want it. Why not make that fight?
um
“Obviously, first things first. June 10th, live on DAZN; it’s going to
be a great entertaining fight card.
“Absolutely,” said De La Hoya when asked if he would be willing to have Munguia go up to 168 to fight David Benavidez. “Look, Jaime Munguia, when you stand next to him, he’s a big kid. He can carry 168 with no problem. I’ve spoken to Benavidez, and I remember sitting down with him.
“Benavides was the one mentioning to me, ‘I want Jaime. That would be a great fight.’ I’m like, ‘Guess what? Jaime wants you too.’ So that’s one fight that can be made.
“Yeah, I told him, ‘Look, you have to be patient. That’s it. Just keep knocking on the door. Eventually, it’ll open up. I mean they
can’t keep that door locked for so long.
“Eventually, if you keep knocking on it, it’s going to open. So just have patience,” said De La Hoya about what he told David Benavidez about him being frustrated at not being able to get a fight against Canelo Alvarez.
“He’s young; he’s still learning. He’s still growing, so he understood, but obviously, fighters get frustrated. They get antsy. They want to fight the very biggest fights out there.
“There’s always the public demand. There’s always that public pressure, but you just stay on your course, stay in your lane, and eventually, those big fights will happen,” said De La Hoya.
