On Mexican Independence Day weekend, boxing’s most notable weekend each year, Jaime Munguia (33-0-0, 26KOs) and Ryan Garcia (18-0-0, 15KOs) will try to continue their hype train. Munguia and Garcia are among some of the most talked about young talents in the sport, and on September 14th they plan on proving why that is.
Both fighters have had performances in the past that led some fans to question their potential, and these fights caused Munguia and Garcia to make a trainer switch. It will be intriguing to see how well both fighters can progress with a new lead man in their corner.
Against Dennis Hogan, Munguia was criticized for lack of head movement and being an easy target. Munguia took a large number of power punches, and the fight ended closer than anyone anticipated. The verdict was a controversial majority decision in Munguia’s favor. Afterward, Robert Alcazar was relieved of his duty as trainer and in stepped Erik Morales. His new trainer promises a more refined version of Jaime Munguia, but with the same explosiveness that fans love to watch. Munguia will face off against 43-fight veteran Patrick Allotey (40-3-0, 30KOs) in what will most likely be Munguia’s last fight at 154 before moving up. The bout will be the testing ground for how he improves upon his weaknesses. Allotey has been a pro since 2006, bringing a wealth of experience to the ring. He is the right opponent that will allow Munguia to learn more after coming away from the fight.
Against Carlos Morales, Ryan Garcia showed some alarming weaknesses, which proved he needed a new trainer and that he wasn’t quite ready for the championship level. Garcia dominated the first half of the fight, but in the later stages he displayed evident signs of fatigue. He started looking at the clock and began holding on to his opponent, waiting for the fight to end. He won a majority decision, but his performance indicated that he still had plenty of room to grow.
This prompted him to no longer have his father as chief second. He made a major change and decided to be trained by Eddy Reynoso, well known for being the head cornerman for Canelo Alvarez. Since Garcia has been under the tutelage of Reynoso, he scored two impressive stoppage victories in a row, against Braulio Rodriguez and Jose Lopez. Garcia is sitting on his punches better, and is doing a good job of utilizing his power rather than trying to punch as fast as he can with every blow. He will square off against Avery Sparrow (10-1-0, 3KOs), a Philadelphia fighter managed by R&B legend Usher Raymond. Sparrow defeated Henry Lundy in his last outing, a quality victory against a veteran fighter who has faced some of boxing’s elite including Terence Crawford, Viktor Postol, and Ray Beltran. Sparrow could be the best opponent Garcia has faced to date, and the fight will be anything but a walk-through for the undefeated rising star.
The card is on the DAZN streaming platform, with preliminary fights beginning at 4pm PT and the main broadcast starting at 6pm PT. Munguia will attempt to show what future hall-of-famer Erik Morales has taught him, and Garcia will try to prove that he has the ability to compete at the world championship level. The crowd will be lively at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, as Mexican Independence Day weekend always attracts a great boxing audience. It should be an exciting card that leads to some future high-level match-ups for Munguia and Garcia.
Source: Max Warren
www.sports24ghana.com
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