Jaime Munguia Makes Predictably Easy Work Of Gonzalo Coria
In his latest tour of duty, one-time WBO super welterweight champion Jaime Munguia (41-0, 33 KO’s) took on Gonzalo “El Mago” Coria (21-6, 8 KO’s). The two middleweights went to battle in the belly of Arena Astros located in Jalisco, Mexico. Entering this match-up, the Golden Boy fighter, Munguia, was the heavy favorite to win. Favorite or not, it was also an important duel for Munguia, ranked #1 (WBO), #1 (WBC), #3 (IBF) and #3 (WBA), to win.
It was only through victory that he could maintain his position to face WBO 160-pound champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. This affair with Coria marked the third time that Munguia competed this year. In the previous two matches, Munguia stopped first D’Mitrius Ballard and then Jimmy Kelly. Coria came to the ring already saddled with a litany of defeats. Yet, one of the most notable is to the previous mentioned Alimkhanuly, who stopped Coria in the second round back on October 9, 2020.
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The bout opened in rather choppy and disjointed fashion, which saw Munguia content to probe a clinch-happy Coria from the outside. The second round closely mirrored the first; only this time a well-timed straight right hand put Coria on the canvas. To his credit, the fallen fighter rose easily and finished the round without any more hiccups. Things rapidly progressed from bad to worse for Coria in the third.
Here, Munguia began to all-out pummel the constantly retreating Coria to the head and body extremely evenly. Caught corralled against the ropes, the out-gunned pugilist finally gave way to the assault after a final barrage of blows. On the outside looking in, it appeared that Coria could have beaten the count but consciously opted not to. While it’s always good to win, especially by knockout, this victory will do little for Munguia as he was expected to prevail anyway.
Without question, the boxing public will want to see Munguia step up his level of completion in 2023. To this end, during his post-fight interview, Munguia mentioned fighting WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. Yet, he put particular emphasis on facing unified 160-pound champion Gennady Golovkin. Let’s hope that one of those duels actually becomes a reality.
By: Bakari Simpson
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