Jaime Munguia knew he was growing out of the super welterweight division.
He was struggling to make 154 pounds. While he still won those last three fights against Takeshi Inoue, Dennis Hogan, and Patrick Allotey, Munguia admittedly didn't look his best. Because of those difficulties, the 25-year-old decided to make the trek up to 160 pounds. He made his middleweight debut in January 2020 and has looked impressive in wins over Gary O'Sullivan, Tureano Johnson, Kamil Szeremeta, and Gabe Rosado, respectively. Munguia's won all of those fights, with three coming via knockout.
But November's performance against Rosado turned a lot of heads. Yes, the fight went the distance, but Munguia showed he's more than just a power puncher under the guidance of Hall of Famer Erik Morales. Munguia showed great shot placement, good footwork, throwing combinations and improved cardio down the stretch in a grueling contest.
"I felt really good," Munguia admitted to DAZN News through a translator. "That was the best I had felt in the ring in a long time. Working with Erik (Morales), you could really see the advances I have made in my fighting style. I feel excellent. You can see the changes that I’m making in my fighting and that I continue to work to get better."
The victory kept Munguia (38-0, 30 KOs) undefeated and he remained the No. 1 contender in the WBC and WBO rankings. The WBC champion is Jermall Charlo and the WBO titlist is Demetrius Andrade. But some were shocked that Munguia went the route of his 2022 debut as he takes on the unbeaten D'Mitrius Ballard (21-0-1, 13 KOs) on Saturday from Plaza Monumental in Tijuana, Mexico, that can be seen on DAZN (excluding Mexico).
Munguia and Ballard were supposed to square off last year but an injury to Ballard scrapped those plans for the time being. That and other reasons led to Munguia wanting to get a fight early in the year instead of waiting around to see what Andrade and Charlo would do.
"I definitely did not want to miss the opportunity to continue fighting, staying busy and staying nimble," Munguia said. "Not all fighters are prepared to take a fight early on in the first quarter of the year. So I decided that I wanted to stay busy and continue fighting. The opportunity was there with Ballard and I decided to take it. I’m definitely aiming for a world title fight later this year, hopefully in the summer, early May is my goal."
According to Bet MGM, Munguia is a significant favorite to dispatch Ballard. The former WBO super-welterweight champion already has a foe in mind for the first world title fight in his new weight class.
"If it was my choice, I would really like to fight Gennadiy Golovkin or the winner of Golovkin vs. (Ryoto) Murata," Munguia bluntly said.
"Facing Gennadiy Golovkin would be the biggest fight of my career," Munguia continued. "Gennadiy is a really big name in the sport. That would be a really big fight for me. But I’m also thinking about the time that the Nevada Commission did not allow me to fight him (in 2018) and didn't give me that opportunity. I think that it's time for him, and I’m ready for that kind of fight. It would be a really good fight."
Before Munguia can start thinking about "GGG," he's got Ballard in front of him. Munguia knows the danger that lies ahead.
"D'Mitrius is an undefeated fighter," Munguia said. "That's difficult to do to be at this stage of his career and be still undefeated. He has great qualities and abilities. For him, the biggest challenge will be to stay concentrated on this fight and just make sure that I understand that Demetrius is going to come for everything."