There's a reason why they fight the fights. I was taught that long ago by the legendary Larry Merchant years ago. Another one of his favorite phrases was that boxing was, ''the theater of the unexpected''. Both rang true this past weekend. What was thought of as a rather nondescript weekend of boxing on various platforms, instead became one that produced the upset of the year, and one of the better fights of 2024.
What we thought was just content filler put forth by the promoters for their network partners, ended up becoming one of the more memorable weekends of boxing in recent memory.
Late Saturday night in Tijuana, local favorite, Jaime Munguia, was scheduled for his second stay-busy fight after his defeat to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez back in May. In September, Munguia took care of Erik Bazinyan in 10 rounds. This time around he was paired with Bruno 'Mars' Surace, who was undefeated, but had scored just four stoppages in 27 fights. While he was undefeated coming in, it came against very soft opposition.
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Things were going as expected with Munguia scoring a knockdown in round two. It looked as if it would only be a matter of time before Munguia would end things. But a funny thing happened, nobody told Surace that he was there merely as cannon fodder. In-between all the work put forth by Munguia, Surace was shooting off sneaky counter right hands.
But surely, the light hitting Surace was no threat for the usually durable Munguia right?
Well, near the end of round six he uncorked a huge right hand that sent Munguia crashing to the canvas. Some will argue that it was a rather quick count but the reality is that Munguia was groggy and wobbly as got to his feet. Waving off the fight was justified.
UPSET ALERT! Jaime Munguia Gets KNOCKED OUT By Bruno Surace | FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS
Just like that, it was over. Plans for Munguia in 2025 to face the likes of Edgar Berlanga, Caleb Plant or Christian Mbilli are now on the back burner. He and his team now are left to pick up the shattered pieces. As for Surace, well, he'll now have a chance to cash in on this momentous upset.
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
“I know that he is an excellent boxer. So, we worked on our counter punches," Surace said. "He is a true warrior. I want to thank him for the opportunity. This was a big experience for me. Middleweight is my true weight class. But we’ll see if (a rematch} can happen.”
Meanwhile in Ontario at the Toyota Arena, Golden Boy Promotions put on their final show of the year featuring a pivotal welterweight contest between Raul Curiel and Alexis Rocha. For Curiel it was an opportunity to stamp himself as a contender, while Rocha wanted to show that his loss to Giovanni Santillan year was just a bad night at the office.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
What took place was one helluva fight. Both men gave as good as they got, and the fights intensity steadily increased in the late rounds. It may not win 'fight of the year' honors, but it should be invited to the awards banquet.
It's a cliche' to state that neither guy deserved to lose. But in this case it was true, and when the decision was rendered (116-112 Rocha, 114-114, 114-114) a draw. Nobody really had a complaint, and the combatants certainly earned one another's respect.
There should certainly be a rematch of this in the spring of 2025, and I propose that it's time for Golden Boy to go back to the 'War Grounds' of Carson (officially known as 'Dignity Health Sports Park') with this one.
Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy Promotions
Then in Monaco, Matchroom Boxing had a show that was streamed on DAZN. The main event was a junior featherweight contest between former unified champion, Murodjon 'MJ' Akhmadaliev and Ricardo Espinoza.
Akhmadaliev, as Chris Rock would say, did what he was supposed to in dispatching Espinoza in three.
ABSOLUTE DOMINATION | Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Ricardo Espinoza Francoa - Full Fight Replay
It's clear who they want next -- ''the Monster'', Naoya Inoue. It will be interesting to see if the WBA presses the issue, here. Currently, 'MJ' is ranked number one by the organization. Inoue is now facing Sam Goodman (his IBF mandatory) in late January after the challenger suffered a cut on his last day of sparring before he was scheduled to leave for Japan.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
My view is that Akhmadaliev, who is rated second in the division by Ring Magazine, is the toughest remaining hurdle left at 122 for Inoue. I hope this match-up takes place before he moves up to featherweight.
