Jaime Munguia To Top Rank Puts Golden Boy In Tough Spot

On Tuesday it was reported by ESPN Deportes’ Salvador Rodríguez that Jaime Munguia, coming off a spirited losing effort to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May, has split with co-promoter Golden Boy and will now be fighting under the Top Rank banner.

The 27-year-old Munguia retains his ties with lead promoter Zanfer Promotions in Mexico, but has signed a multi-fight co-promotional deal with the Bob Arum-founded company, which will broadcast the Mexican’s fights via ESPN.

Munguia’s first bout under the new deal will take place September 20 against super middleweight contender Erik Bazinyan. It will be his third bout this year.

In his last contest, the Tijuana native accounted well for himself in his challenge of unified super middleweight champ Alvarez. Despite suffering the first knockdown of his career, he would battle his way through the twelve round contest and have some solid moments en route to a unanimous decision loss. Prior to that, he stopped the UK’s John Ryder in nine rounds.

Munguia first hit the boxing scene as an opponent rejected for middleweight champ Gennadiy Golovkin by the Nevada State Athletic Commission in 2018. Munguia would next appear on HBO, challenging for the WBO junior middleweight title and dropping defending champ Sadam Ali four times en route to a fourth-round TKO.

Golden Boy in a Tough Spot After Munguia Loss

The decision to sever ties with Golden Boy after a working arrangement of more than six years was a surprise to most in the business and it puts the Oscar De La Hoya company in a rough spot.

Munguia was firmly in the promotional company’s upper tier of marketable fighters, with his star on the rise after the Canelo effort. The loss will be felt.

Golden Boy’s top draw, Ryan Garcia, is not only suspended for a year after testing positive for a banned substance, but he’s also been increasingly erratic in his behavior and attitude. Appearing unhinged and not quite in a sober state of mind for months now, the young man gives off the vibe of someone on the verge of a breakdown. Prior to his latest stretch of odd behavior, Garcia had a tense relationship with De La Hoya, with several public back-and-forth verbal skirmishes and efforts from Garcia to abandon his Golden Boy contract.

The loss of Munguia and the uncertainty of Ryan Garcia put an incredible amount of importance on the long-term main stage viability of the company’s next biggest star Vergil Ortiz Jr., who will face a stiff test in challenging Serhii Bohachuk for the WBC interim junior middleweight title on August 10. Ortiz is coming off a patch of inactivity and injury that stalled the career of the young fighter, once considered on the fast track to commercial success.

Other “names” on the Golden Boy roster include William Zepeda, Jose Ramirez, Gilberto Ramirez, Oscar Collazo, Shane Mosley Jr., and some very good-to-decent prospects– but none are PPV-ready draws and none are needle movers when it comes to generating revenue.

On Monday, it was announced that Golden Boy had entered into a partnership with the Saudi Arabian Riyadh Season initiative. Top Rank has also entered into a separate, but apparently similar deal with the Saudis.

There’s been no word yet from Golden Boy or De La Hoya regarding Munguia’s decision to take his services elsewhere.