Jaime Munguia (33-0, 26 KOs) hosted a media workout yesterday in his hometown of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico ahead of defending his WBO Junior Middleweight World Title in a 12-round bout against African warrior Patrick Allotey (40-3, 30 KOs). The young star was joined by his trainer Erik Morales, along with Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy, and Fernando Beltran, CEO of Zanfer Promotions. The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. and will be streamed live on DAZN.
Below is what yesterday’s participants had to say at the media workout:
Jaime Munguia, WBO Junior Middleweight World Champion:
“For this camp, we’ve been working on keeping my hands up, moving my waist and using lateral movement. That’s what we have been practicing every day with my new trainer Erik Morales. Erik and I had known each other from before, but I never thought that I’d be training with him. Things happen for a reason, and I think it’s for the best.”
“Erik and I have a good relationship, and we get along well. We’re happy when we’re working with each other as I have been with my father and other trainers as well. Erik brings a lot of intelligence to camp. He knows what to do in the ring. He knows how to work on defense, and he gives me a lot of advice regarding what to do in a fight. It comes with his experience, and of course I execute what he says when I am in the ring. It has been really good.”
Erik Morales, Hall of Famer and Trainer to Jaime Munguia
“In Jaime Munguia’s last fight, he was criticized a lot. He showed vulnerabilities in his defense. However, he has a lot of potential. He’s young, strong and can hit very hard. We haven’t changed much. Rather, we’ve strengthened his combinations and focused on his offense. We’ve made some minor changes in his defense, but it will nevertheless make the a difference.”
“We weren’t friends before working together, but we thought well of each other. When we’d see each other, we would greet each other happily. Now that we are together, we have a very cordial relationship. When you bring a new voice into a corner, it can be tough at first. But when you find a way to listen and you see that things are going your way, it can be a calming experience. If there’s any advice that I’d give to Jaime, it’s to listen to his corner, pay attention and let us help him.”
Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy:
“I like what I see in Jaime Munguia now that he has the legendary Erik Morales in his corner. He’s having him sit down more on his punches. Before, he was on his toes too much. Now he has him sitting on his punches and throwing combinations. At the same time, he is moving his head and being smart, so I like what I see.”
“I’m expecting Jaime to box a little bit, but I also expect him to be more aggressive and throw combinations. Fighters today don’t throw as many combinations. They want to knock people out with one punch. But it’s not the first punch that knocks you out-it’s the third or fourth punch. I like Jaime is being more aggressive and throwing more combinations. We’ll see what happens on Sept. 14.”
Fernando Beltran, CEO of Zanfer Promotions:
“Jaime Munguia is improving a lot with Erik Morales. There are a lot of similarities between them. Both guys came from Tijuana and were undefeated when they became world champions at only 21 years of age. They both started with their fathers as well. This team will do a lot in boxing. I see Jaime Munguia is improving his defense and on not throwing punches for the sake of throwing them. He’s thinking more in there. He’s improving a lot.”
“Erik Morales has a lot to prove as a trainer. As a former fighter, he has a lot of knowledge, which he can now pass down to other fighters who are coming up. They get along very well. We are very happy to have put them together and that they are getting along so well. We’re also happy with Jaime’s improvement. We just saw him moving his head in sparring and throwing a lot of punches. He’s not jumping as much. I really like it.”
Munguia vs. Allotey is a 12-round fight for the WBO Junior Middleweight Championship presented by Golden Boy in association with Zanfer Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, “THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING,” Hennessy “Never Stop. Never Settle,” and Orange Crush. The event will take place Saturday, Sept. 14 at Dignity Health Sports Park and will be streamed live on DAZN.
