Jaime Munguia’s new trainer, Freddie Roach, has explained what he changed in the fighter’s approach ahead of his match-up with John Ryder this weekend.
The two fighters fight this Saturday, live on DAZN, as they look to put themselves back in the mix for a title at super middleweight.
Munguia still carries an unbeaten record but he has yet to translate that into a title shot since he became champion at light middleweight.
Ryder himself fell short in Mexico last May when he lost to Canelo Alvarez, but still has hopes he can get back to the top.
Speaking to BoxingScene.com, Roach said what his first impressions of Munguia were.
“He’s better than what I thought, for sure,” Roach said. “He’s a more complete fighter and so forth. You know, the comments about what he does well and what he doesn’t do well really doesn’t match up with what he is.”
Roach added that he has changed his “style” as a result of their work together.
“From day one, he’s done a lotta work,” he said. “He’s fun to work with. We’ve worked on combinations, changing his style, being more in an attack motion and not a counterpuncher. And he’s doing very well. The first thing I hear about the guy is that he has very, very poor defense.
“And then I said, ‘What are these people talking about? He’s got great offense, and that right there is a good defense.’ It’s not like he goes in there with his hands down and starts swinging with [his opponent]. He’s a good boxer and he has good footwork and his combinations are very, very good. I know that because sometimes he hits me on the chin.”
Munguia’s last fight was with Sergiy Derevyanchenko 7½ months ago, earning him a unanimous victory, but this is his first outing in 2024.
“I like when he’s busy,” Roach continued. “He throws really good combinations, puts ‘em together very well and he has good movement. He’s in and out, side to side, and I think the best thing he’s doing right now is head movement. He has tremendous head movement. He’s making guys miss, miss, miss and making them pay.”
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