Super middleweight contender Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) faces Bruno Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) in a 12-round rematch on May 3rd in Riyadh. Munguia-Surace 2 will be the co-feature on the Canelo Alvarez vs. William Scull undisputed card.
Munguia’s Motivation
Munguia, 28, hopes to avenge his humiliating sixth-round knockout loss to Surace on December 14th last year in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico. That was a surprise KO loss for Munguia, who was the favorite going in and had dropped Surace earlier in the fight in the second.
Salvador Rodriguez broke the news of Munguia fighting Surace on May 3rd. We knew that the former WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia was going to take the rematch with Surace, 26, to try and avenge the loss, but it wasn’t confirmed until today.
It’s brave on Munguia’s part to take the rematch, but also stupid. The two are worlds apart in terms of talent, and a rematch won’t be any different than in the first fight. Surace’s hand speed and punch placement are too much for the easy-to-hit Munguia to handle
Munguia hopes to turn the tables and win the rematch, allowing him to line himself up for some nice paydays against Edgar Berlanga and perhaps a rematch that no one wants to see against Canelo. But I don’t think he’ll do it because Surace is too good for him, and if anything, the rematch will end much faster than the first bout.
Going into the Munguia-Surace fight last December, one could spot trouble for Munguia with clips of Surance’s blazing fast fight hands that he’s used to knock out his previous opponent, Jhon Jader Obregon. He’d worked on that punch and developed it into a real weapon.
Before that fight, Surace wasn’t a knockout puncher, but he improved his game considerably. Munguia’s management focused on Surace’s other fights and did not recognize that he’d changed his game.
If they knew how dangerous he was, they’d have never taken the fight with him and would have continued cherry-picking opponents as they’d been throughout his career, except for his fight with Canelo.
