Erik Bazinyan vs Jaime Munguia Preview September 20th, 2024
Unbeaten Erik Bazinyan of Armenia returns to the ring this Friday, September 20th to take on former WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Jaime Munguia of Mexico. The 12-round super middleweight contest from Glendale, Arizona can be seen live on the ESPN platform in America while fans in the UK and Ireland can catch it in Sky Sports Plus. Munguia last boxed in May when he dropped a unanimous decision to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in a shot at the undisputed Super Middleweight Title. Bazinyan’s last fight was also in May when he battled to a 10-round draw with Shakeel Phinn to defend his NABF Title.
Bazinyan vs Munguia Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Erik Bazinyan +600
- Jaime Munguia -1000
My Pick
The 28-year-old Bazinyan fights out of Laval, Quebec and enters the ring with a near-perfect mark of 32-0-1 with 23 Ko’s. He’s boxed 169 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013 following an amateur career in Armenia where he reportedly won 109 of his 110 bouts. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with an unlisted reach so is an inch taller than Munguia. He carries plenty of power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 71.9 per cent and has stopped 14 of his last 19 opponents.
Since turning pro, Bazinyan has also won the vacant WBO Youth, NABA and WBO NABO Super Middleweight Titles. His biggest wins so far have been against Billi Facundo Godoy, Ronald Ellis, Jose De Jesus Macias, Alantez Fox, Zoltan Sera, Ferenc Albert, David Zegarra, Francy Ntetu, Ricardo Luna, Alan Campa, Saul Roman, Timo Laine, Scott Sigmon, and Marcelo Coceres.
The 27-year-old Munguia of Tijuana definitely likes to stay active as this will be his 45th fight since turning pro in July, 2013 when he was a teenager. He enters the contest with a fine mark of 43-1 with 34 Ko’s with his lone defeat coming at the hands of Alvarez in his last outing after being momentarily dropped in the fourth round. Munguia first made a name for himself against Sadam Ali when he stepped up in class and stopped him in five rounds in May, 2018 for the WBO Jr. Middleweight Title.
He then defended his belt against Liam Smith, Brandon Cook, Takeshi Inoue, Dennis Hogan and Patrick Allotey before moving up to middleweight. At 160 lbs, he stopped Gary O’Sullivan in the 11th round in 2019 and then halted Tureano Johnson after six to win the vacant WBO Inter Continental Middleweight Title. He stopped Kamil Szeremeta after six rounds before beating Gabriel Rosado by unanimous decision and then halting D’Mitrius Ballard, Jimmy Kelly and Gonzalo Coria.
Some of those fights highlighted Munguia’s defensive shortcomings but that’s a part of what makes him so exciting. The other part of his fan-friendly style is the fact he has dynamite in his fists as 79.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. Munguia reportedly went 128-10 in the amateurs and now has 211 rounds of pro experience under his belt. He entered the title fight against Sadam Ali in 2018 as a hungry boxer who wanted to make a name for himself on the world stage and he certainly did that.
However, he struggled against Dennis Hogan and Takeshi Inoue as he went the distance with both of them and took quite a few shots. He also had trouble making the 160 lb weight limit and after several outings as a middleweight the 6-foot tall Munguia took his 72-inch reach up to super middleweight against Kelly but then moved back to middleweight to fight Gonzalo Coria but moved north again. He beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko and John Ryder at super middleweight last year before meeting Alvarez and appears to be staying at 168 lbs for the time being.
Prediction…
Bazinyan has a great record but isn’t really that well known outside of Canada as the majority of his fights have been held there. He’s has looked a bit better recently after going through a spell in which he was far from impressive but could only muster a draw against Shakeel Phinn in his last fight and has gone the distance in four of his past six outings. He needs to utilize his power and aggressiveness to enjoy any success against Munguia and will be taking a step up in class this weekend. Munguia is arguably more powerful than Bazinyan and both boxers possess solid chins. He handled himself well against Alvarez and needs to fight his usual aggressive style against Bazinyan. I like Munguia’s chances of a win here due to his power, chin and the fact that he’s faced tougher opposition as a pro.
Munguia has the power and aggressiveness needed to win.
Play: Munguia -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Erik Bazinyan betting • Jaime Munguia betting