Jaime Munguia survived a mid-fight gut-check to beat Nikita Zon and retain his WBA tremendous middleweight title in a sloppy but entertaining bout Saturday on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli undercard at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With a world title on the line and famed coach Eddy Reynoso in Munguia’s nook, one would be forgiven for anticipating technical prowess. But this one was as bizarre and feral as it was fascinating, that includes quite a few rounds of unrestrained brawling.
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For Munguia (47-2, 35 KOs), it was his third battle under Reynoso’s watch, with the timing of each camp having the added benefit of Munguia being ready to practice alongside Alvarez — the fighter he lost to in 2024
But Munguia is far from a typical Reynoso fighter. He stays heavy-handed, rugged and defensively weak. And he was uncovered as such Saturday by an unorthodox Russian who came into the battle with one intention: frustrate Munguia by roughing him up and making issues ugly.
In the opening spherical, Zon (12-1-1, 10 KOs) hit Munguia with two late punches after a break. The Mexican responded with a clattering left hook of his own, but it was not enough to deter the southpaw from his strategy, as Zon pushed Munguia back with a glove to the face and held his head down for good measure in the second.
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Munguia was usually off-balance, eating punches and compelled into the corners of the ring, where Zon would attack him with all sorts of unconventional photographs with more and more odd leverage.
Munguia, however, did produce moments of his own, notably when he hammered left hooks into Zon’s unprotected ribs.
Munguia even wobbled Zon with a straight shot in the third spherical. He capitalized on Zon’s awkward posture, with the Russian conserving his proper hand low to shoot jabs from his waist, leaving himself weak to snappy photographs up high — something Munguia was all too pleased to exploit.
By the fifth, Munguia saved making Zon pay for the defensive holes in his guard, ramming a large shot into Zon’s uncovered chin that threatened to ship him to the canvas. With Zon still dazed, Munguia landed a three-punch mixture on the Russian’s face at the bell.
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Then came the sixth spherical — the spherical of the night time. Munguia and Zon exchanged energy punches in frenetic fashion, with Zon hurting the champ with a counter left uppercut, before a proper hook threatened to put the Mexican on the ground. Against the odds, Zon had immediately discovered his second — and perhaps even the battle.
Referee Tony Weeks even appeared prepared to intervene at one stage, such was the hazard Munguia discovered himself in.
But rather than choosing his punches and exploiting the openings, Zon threw indiscriminately, smothering his own work and permitting Munguia to survive.
Considering Zon had never boxed beyond the eighth spherical in his profession, there were questions about how properly he could preserve his power. And after his close to second, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Zon snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
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Munguia hardly helped his wearied challenger recuperate — he continued to hammer hooks into Zon’s ribs, accelerating the Russian’s bodily decline. Zon started slowing significantly, not just with his fingers but his footwork too, struggling to get out of the approach of Munguia’s punches.
Even Munguia’s jab turned considerably of a energy punch in the bout’s closing rounds, contemplating the ease with which he could throw and land with it, with Zon’s defensive sport gone by the tenth.
When the battle had finally completed, the judges awarded Munguia with a unanimous determination win with scores of 116-112 and 117-111 twice.
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“It was a little complicated, but I pulled it off,” Munguia said post-fight.
“He caught me, then I caught him, and I got careless and he caught me again,” Munguia added of the sixth spherical. “It’s part of learning and my growth. I give myself a six or seven out of 10. Some things failed. Some I did not do.
“I’m pleased with my win and I will keep on working.”
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