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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
Jaime Munguia has signed a multifight co-promotional deal with Top Rank and will fight Erik Bazinyan on Sept. 20 in the Phoenix area, sources told ESPN.
Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) suffered his first loss in May, a spirited decision setback against boxing’s top star, Canelo Alvarez. Munguia’s past 16 fights were co-promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and Zanfer Promotions (the past 13 were streamed on DAZN).
Now, Munguia, a 27-year-old from Mexico, will fight exclusively on ESPN under the Top Rank banner with Mexican promoter Zanfer involved.
“Jaime will make an announcement soon,” Zanfer CEO Fernando Beltran told ESPN on Tuesday. “We’re happy with everything we have accomplished with everyone. … If we look for options or platforms or whatever, that’s not for me to say.”
Munguia’s first fight with Golden Boy was in May 2018, a fourth-round TKO victory over Sadam Ali to win the WBO junior middleweight title. He went on to make four title defenses before he moved up to 160 pounds as Golden Boy built him into an attraction.
Munguia’s past three bouts have taken place at 168 pounds, including his decision victory over Sergiy Derevyanchenko in ESPN’s 2023 Fight of the Year.
And while Munguia was knocked down in the loss to Alvarez, he more than held his own in his first fight on the elite level. Munguia watched a tumultuous lead-up to fight night as De La Hoya, a Hall of Fame boxer, verbally sparred with his former fighter, Alvarez, on the dais.
Munguia is rated No. 4 at super middleweight by ESPN. Christian Mbilli, the action fighter who fights out of Quebec, is No. 3. Mbilli, too, is promoted by Top Rank; he fights Derevyancheko on Aug. 17 in Quebec City. A Munguia-Mbili fight would be highly anticipated if it materializes next year.
Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) also resides in Quebec. The 29-year-old is ESPN’s No. 9 super middleweight. Bazinyan is coming off a draw to Shakeel Phinn in May.
ESPN Deportes’ Salvador Rodriguez contributed to this report.
Source: www.espn.com