Will Jaime Munguia Finally Compete for the WBO Middleweight Title?
On Saturday February 29, 2022, middleweight fighter Jaime Munguia (38-0, 30 KO’s) will face the challenge of D’Mitrius “Big Meech” Ballard (21-0-1, 13 KO’s). It’s an important fight for Munguia to maintain his #1 (WBO), #1 (WBC) #2 (WBA) and #12 (IBF) standings. Lucky for him, he will enter the bout as the favorite to win. Assuming the Mexican does get past Ballard, what’s the next move?
The more pressing question is: will Munguia finally fight to secure the WBO middleweight title for himself? The reluctant belt-seeker has been WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade’s mandatory challenger since December of 2019. Rather than making an attempt to battle for the title however, Munguia has been content to face Gary O’Sullivan, Tuerano Johnson and Kamil Szeremeta. Now however, in just a short minute, Andrade will no longer control the WBO title, leaving the power vacuum open.
WHAT’S IT GOING TO BE?!
Boo Boo has declared his desire to move up and is currently in negotiations with Zach Parker. As he is seeking a world title in the new division, it is only logical that he will officially vacate the belt. Once done, Munguia will be in prime position to get a crack at the title. This is because, according to their rules, the WBO reserves the right to schedule a contest between the two best contenders or a box-off between the four best candidates.
Currently the Golden Boy backed boxer holds the #1 (WBO) position, Zhanibeck Almkhanuly is #2, Esquiva Falcao is #3 and Danny Dignum is #4. Zhanibeck Almkhanuly was last in the ring knocking out Hassan N’Dam on November 20, 2021, so he would be available to duke it out for the title should the need arise. The same goes for Falcao as he fought and bested Patrice Volny on the same card as Almkhanuly versus N’Dam. Dignum just picked up a sixth round stoppage win over Grant Dennis on February 11.
With this seemingly close opportunity to fight for a title in a second division, it’ll be interesting to see what the Mexican does. Hopefully, the WBO orders a fight between Munguia and Almkhanuly and the Mexican answers the call of duty. Yet, we’ll just have to wait and see how the situation resolves itself.
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By: Bakari Simpson
