Jaime Munguia’s four-year, nine-fight stint with hall-of-fame fighter-turned-trainer Erik Morales came to an end shortly after Munguia went tooth and nail to survive a scintillating slugfest against Sergiy Derevyanchenko last summer. 

The reason for the separation? 

It was simply explained that Morales could no longer commit to training Munguia full-time due to his aspirations of becoming the Mayor of Tijuana. 

So the Mexican native Munguia moved to Tinseltown instead, making the nearly three-hour drive across the border to Hollywood, California to hand the coaching keys of his career to hall-of-fame trainer Freddie Roach. 

Munguia (42-0, 33 KOs) and Roach are now ready to make their debut as a duo on Saturday when they take on John Ryder (32-6, 18 KOs) at the Footprint Center in Phoenix. The fight will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card on DAZN.

Munguia and Roach are promising to do what Canelo Alvarez couldn’t during his clash against Ryder in May – to score a stoppage win against the Brit. They hope their performance is prolific enough to get Alvarez’s attention to set up an all-Mexico clash for the undisputed super middleweight title. 

“I honestly feel like I can knock John Ryder out. That’s what we are working toward,” Munguia said during a workout at the newly built Golden Boy Boxing Gym ahead of the showdown against Munguia. 

Roach took it a step further and said Munguia would knock out Ryder inside eight rounds. 

The proclamation can be considered easier said than done for Munguia, especially since the 27-year-old Munguia still hasn’t overcome defensive deficiencies that have put him in dangerous dances with the judges. 

Derevyanchenko took Munguia to deep waters and if it weren’t for a final-round knockdown, Munguia would not have won the tit-for-tat tilt. 

Jaime Munguia and Sergey Derevyanchenko waged war for 12 rounds in a fight of the year candidate. Photo by Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy Promotions

Roach has entered the equation to help solve the problems that have been plaguing Munguia. 

“From the first day he came into the gym until now, he has worked hard. He gives 100 percent every day,” said Roach. “He hits hard. He definitely has good power … Sparring partners fear him. He loves to work.” 

Munguia co-promoter Oscar De La Hoya was trained by Roach during his heyday, and the hall of famer and six-division champion says Roach is a welcome addition to Munguia’s team. 

“Freddie will get you in tip-top shape. If you thought Jaime Munguia was already in good shape in his previous fights, wait until you see his conditioning against Ryder,” said De La Hoya. 

“More importantly, I think the defense and jab output from Munguia is what I’m going to be looking for because of Freddie. I think Freddie is going to take him and push those limits. Freddie knows how important that jab is.”

Munguia said Morales taught technique while Roach is preaching aggressiveness; he’s looking to tie the two together to form a better balance. 

The hard-charging southpaw Ryder is certainly no rollover who’s designed to make Munguia look good. 

Ryder revived his career with a resurgent 2022 campaign featuring resounding wins against Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker. The victories helped set up the rugged veteran with the Alvarez fight. Many believed Ryder would be outmatched and make Alvarez look like his old dominant self, but the Brit survived a knockdown and broken nose to look respectable by winning a couple of late rounds in Alvarez’s homecoming fight in Jalisco, Mexico.

Canelo Alvarez and John Ryder engaged in a bloody, 12-round slugfest. (Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images)

“I want to go in there and make a statement against Mungia. I’m here for a good time, not a long time,” said Ryder. “I’m a different fighter now from when I fought Canelo. I believe I learned a lot about myself. I wish I could have had that type of fight 10 years ago. You learn a lot about yourself, your desires, and how deep the fire burns. But, I am here now and the fire is still churning.”

Munguia co-promoter Fernando Beltran of Zanfer Promotions believes Ryder was overly cautious against Alvarez and won’t follow the same fight flow due to Munguia’s vulnerable performance against Derevyanchenko.

“Jaime’s not going to have much respect from Ryder and I think it’s going to be a dog fight, a good fight,” said Beltran. “They will see Jaime is at the level of any fighter at 168 pounds.” 

Munguia’s middleweight run from 2020 to 2022 against gatekeepers didn’t feature a title shot, and desired fights against the likes of Jermall Charlo, Gennadiy Golovkin, and Erislandy Lara evaded him. 

Following the momentum-building win against Derevyanchenko, Golden Boy has grandiose plans to propel the former 154-pound beltholder and The Ring’s No. 9-rated fighter Munguia to major matchups moving forward. 

“It’s been a little difficult to get him the big fight, but I think this is a step in the right direction,” said Golden Boy president Eric Gomez. “This is a real fight. John Ryder is a very tough fighter and style-wise wise it’s going to be a great fight. 

“It could be a very big year for Munguia. Think about all of the fighters at super middleweight. At the top of the food chain is Canelo, and we would love to do that fight if Canelo gives us the opportunity. Munguia is open to fighting all of the best ones at 168 pounds.” 

The cream of the crop at super middleweight features the likes of David Benavidez, Christian Mbilli, Caleb Plant, David Morrell, Erik Bazinyan, Vladimir Shishkin, Diego Pacheco, and Edgar Berlanga. 

Alvarez still remains the king of the hill. 

Munguia maintains his respect for Alvarez and is not publicly pounding the table by calling out his superstar countryman even though he admits conversations between both camps for a potential clash have already kicked off. 

But he’ll pounce on the pitting once given the opportunity. 

“I feel like the fans will get to enjoy one of my best performances yet against Ryder,” said Munguia. “I want to fight the best at 168 pounds.” 

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer, and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com, or via www.ManoukAkopyan.com.

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