Jaime Munguia plans January 11th return in San Antonio

WBO super welterweight champ Jaime Munguia will have his second fight under the tutelage of Erik Morales on January 11th, “probably” in San Antonio, TX against TBA. Though Munguia had stated that he intended to debut at 160 after his September knockout of Patrick Allotey, the weight of this fight has not been decided.

If he does elect to continue at 154 pounds, Munguia’s (34-0, 27 KO) mandatory will be determined by the November 30th bout between WBO #1 Carlos Adames and #2 Patrick Teixeira. The timing clearly doesn’t work for the winner of that fight to compete in January, so it would be an optional defense against a lesser opponent.

A middleweight fight probably wouldn’t be that competitive, either; though the WBO’s standard operating procedure would immediately place Munguia at the front of the line for a crack at Demetrius Andrade, there’s no question they’re going to ease him into the weight class with a gimme.

Basically, don’t ask “will this be a capable opponent.” The real question is whether it’ll be a better or worse opponent than Patrick Allotey.

The 23-year-old’s 2019 run was a disappointment after his blockbuster 2018, but he’s still young, talented, and entertaining. Fingers crossed we get to see him face a real challenge again before long.