Munguia-Jacobs catchweight fight in talks for June 11
Munguia is coming off a dominant win over D’Mitrius Ballard, Jacobs a narrow loss to John Ryder
Jaime Munguia had three potential roads to a title shot at his fingers: fighting Carlos Adames in a WBC final eliminator, fighting Janibek Alimkhanuly for the interim WBO title, or just jumping straight to a clash with Jermall Charlo. He declined the first two and his management beefed the third, and now ESPN’s Salvador Rodriguez reports that he’s in talk to face Daniel Jacobs in a 164-pound catchweight bout on June 11th.
The 35-year-old Jacobs (37-4, 30 KO) is 2-2 in his last four, a stoppage of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and split decision over Gabriel Rosado sandwiched between narrow losses to John Ryder and Canelo Alvarez. He’s managed just two fights in the last 27 months, as a potential big-money fight with Joe Smith Jr. evaporated due to various issues.
He’s still a fairly dangerous opponent for Munguia (39-0, 31 KO), last seen smashing D’Mitrius Ballard in three, but it’s hard not to be disappointed. His super welterweight reign never saw him cross paths with anyone more fearsome than Liam Smith and, despite having a title shot guaranteed him on his arrival in the middleweight division, he (or at least those guiding him) has been content to mow down mid-level opponents and sidestep legitimate challengers.
Ah, well, at least the fight should be good.