Jaime Munguia’s proposed fights have been scrapped twice now due to his opponents suffering injuries, but his roadmap remains clear: Work to land a fight with IBF world middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin as soon as possible, while keeping distant vision on a showdown with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez.
The thumping 24-year-old was set to face Maciej Sulecki on Friday, April 24, before the Polish fighter suffered an injury while training. Then, Sulecki’s replacement D’Mitrius Ballard reportedly suffered an injury as well. Now his sights are set for June.
However, while waiting for a new opponent and fight date, Munguia’s one-two punch of a blueprint remained intact. Canelo is currently busy trying to conquer the super middleweight division, with a title-unification fight against Billy Joe Saunders slated for May 8. A win there and Alvarez would certainly try to book a bout with Caleb Plant for a shot at undisputed glory.
Munguia's thinking is he could bide time aptly with a victory over his next opponent and what would be a career-defining victory over Canelo's longtime rival, 'GGG.' Defeating Golovkin might help lure Canelo back to 160 pounds for a Mexican marquee matchup. Munguia believes the clash is "inevitable."
"We're the best fighters from Mexico, so there is a great possibility," Munguia tells DAZN News in Spanish through an interpreter about challenging Canelo someday, prior to learning that the Ballard fight was scratched. "I'm not going to say in the close future, but maybe in the long future. Maybe after two years. If I keep working and he keeps working and we keep being the best fighters from Mexico, I think it's going to be inevitable.
"I think the fans are going to keep asking and we're going to have to give it to them," he adds. "But for right now, I have no rush. I'm happy that both of us are representing Mexico, we both have great careers and I'm happy with that for now."
Munguia wants 'GGG' before he retires
In the immediate sense, landing a shot against GGG takes priority. In fact, negotiations for the bout never came to fruition and Munguia claims to not understand why.
"I don't know," Munguia says, when asked about the matchup. "We've had many opportunities to make a fight. It hasn't been done for whatever reason. But I think he would be willing to.
"I'm very interested in that fight and since I want to be considered one of the best, I would like to fight him," he continues. "Hopefully, we could have it by the end of this year or beginning of next year."
If Munguia doesn’t get the shot at GGG that he so covets, perhaps it can be against one of the other world title holders in the division.
"We are very close to a world title shot. We're at the top of all the sanctioning body organizations," Munguia says. "I'm No. 1 in the WBC. We're available and willing to fight any of the world champions. Hopefully, we get it this year. If not, we'll wait."
The WBC title he mentioned is adorned by Jermall Charlo, who Munguia believes he'll have a great fight against.
But before any of these potential matchups can take shape, Munguia (36-0, 29 KOs) will have to avoid an upset against whomever he faces next after two scratched bouts.
Munguia, who is being trained by Mexican boxing legend and Hall of Famer Erik Morales, calls preparing for a new opponent a minor adjustment.
All the title talk aside, Munguia believes that boxing fans just want to see great fights ... especially with the COVID-19 pandemic refusing to be knocked out just yet.
"My priority is to give good fights to the people," he says. "Give a great fight, so people can keep recognizing me as one of the top fighters in the division."