Ringside at the Toyota Center: Munguia Rebuffs Relentless Inoue

Published

6 years ago

January 27, 2019

Houston, TX — Undefeated WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia found himself in the pit of hell against previously unknown Japanese pressure cooker Takeshi Inoue on Saturday night at the Toyota Center in Houston. Inoue forced Munguia to dig deep over the course of 12 grueling rounds, which saw both fighters swing for the fences for all three minutes of just about every round.

At the end of a hard-fought battle, Munguia (32-0, 26 KOs) survived his third, and most difficult, title defense, winning the action-packed fight by scores of 120-108, 120-108 and 119-109. While the scores might seem too wide to some observers, it’s important to note that not all close fights are scored that way in boxing.

Munguia began his professional prizefighting career at the tender age of 16 in Tijuana, Mexico. Almost six years later, averaging a grueling schedule of five fights a year, primarily within the confines of the city limits in which he was born, Munguia entered the ring having essentially punched his way out of Tijuanan obscurity into the new global sports streaming space pioneered by sudden industry leader DAZN.

Inoue (13-1-1, 7 KOs) didn’t care about any of that. All the 29-year-old stocky puncher seemed concerned with heading into the biggest fight of his prizefighting life was shocking the world.

Having seen Munguia’s monstrous frame tower over his comparatively diminutive opponent during prefight festivities, when the two met in the center of the ring, it looked a lot like what one might expect when seeing a parent pick up a child after school.

Except that when the bell rang here, it wasn’t going to be an audio cue for the kids to pack up their books and saunter toward the exits. Instead, the bell’s ominous toll meant it was time for Munguia to wreck Inoue with what might as well be G-O-D-Z-I-L-L-A emblazoned across his trunks.

Come to think of it, this fight seemed at the outset to be the shortest, most unnecessary portion of the Godzilla movie franchise yet. Bring forth the army! Call forth the National Guard! Nah, nevermind. Just bring in this lonely little man in the center of the ring far from home with nowhere to run.

Except that Inoue did run, and it was right into the action. He was a brave, defiant challenger leaving everything he had of himself inside the ring during every round.

Overall, the fight boiled down to what happened during the first round repeating itself over and over again. Munguia was content to box from a distance, throwing hard jabs, deep left hooks and sizzling straight right hands all over his would-be usurper’s head and body.

But Inoue was undeterred. He lunged forward like an angry bear, landing hard punches coming from wide, looping angles whenever he could get close enough to Munguia to land them, which had to be way more often than Munguia had hoped.

Munguia took the best of Inoue when he could stay off the ropes and out of the corner, but Inoue seemed to get him in one or both of those places for at least some portion of every round.

Both landed hellacious shots. At times, they took turns snapping each other’s head back, only to realize when their heads came back down that both them and their opponent was somehow still standing right there.

The fight was simply this: hard punch, defiant smirk, rinse and repeat. Over and over and over again, Munguia boxed with precision, power and class. Over and over and over again, Inoue kept charging forward.

Munguia came very close to getting the defining moment he probably wanted when he countered Inoue almost into oblivion. But almost is never good enough in a fight like this, and Inoue withstood the storm with just seconds left in the round.

Both men fought bravely. If the wideness of the scores bothers Inoue, it shouldn’t. That’s just how math sometimes works in fights where one fighter just happens to edge out most all of the rounds by a hair. Inoue fought excellently and should be commended for the amazing performance, as should Munguia who had clearly just been in the fight of his life.

If you think about it, Munguia was the anti-Inoue of 2018. Like Inoue, the Mexican was also an unknown when he was presented to the Nevada State Athletic Commission as a possible opponent for Gennady Golovkin in May.

But unlike Inoue, fate kept Munguia out of harm’s way when the NSAC wouldn’t authorize him as a credible opponent. Or maybe it was just Nevada.

Because in retrospect Inoue’s resume looks way worse than Munguia’s did. How was this fight approved while the other one wasn’t? Would Nevada have sanctioned this one? Most anyone who witnessed what happened in Houston was probably glad they didn’t have the say.

Perhaps the most amazing thing is that Inoue, who incidentally isn’t related at all to bantamweight superstar Naoya Inoue, had no credible wins–at least at the world level–on his resume before bravely storming across the Pacific Ocean to make his American boxing debut.

The fact that Inoue was able to compete for Munguia’s world title at all is an example of how politics almost always trumps perceived fair play in the grand, ole sport of professional boxing, and sometimes that might not be a bad thing.

Because Inoue didn’t look like a worthy challenger. He didn’t win his first fight, a six-round draw against Daishi Nagata in 2014 and hadn’t fought outside his home country of Japan except once.

Inoue’s last three wins didn’t look great on paper either. He had notched victories over two single-digit win fighters, Niwat Kongkan and Iku Nagahama, and a 41-year-old Yuki Nonaka.

And Munguia?

His rise had been fast and furious in a way that bookmakers tabbed him a -5000 favorite against Inoue. A 22-year-old world champion going from zero to hero in less than a year, title belt in tow with a lucrative opportunity to help usher in this new global boxing streaming age was surely going to wreck this no-hope fighter from all the way around the world.

Wasn’t he?

But that’s not what happened. Munguia, perhaps destined to become boxing’s next big thing, and Inoue, a fighter some considered just a Japanese club fighter flown in specifically so he could be butchered for the sake of some predetermined, 10-second-or-less, Mungia-hyping video assets, fought an excellent fight that no one saw coming.

Can Upsets Rojas for WBA title

Nobody expected featherweight Xu Can to defeat Jesus Rojas in the co-main event of Munguia-Inoue, but Xu used relentless combinations and old-fashioned stick-to-itiveness to secure his first world title honor.

Rojas, 32, had the odd displeasure of defending his secondary WBA featherweight world title right after losing his last fight, a 12-round unanimous decision to Joseph Diaz in August 2018. But Diaz missed weight for the fight, so despite grabbing the win, he didn’t walk away with Rojas’ title.

So Rojas made good on the opportunity created by the WBA rule, which allowed him to stay champion despite the loss, and Can, 24, made good on the wishes of a surprisingly strong and vocal contingent of Chinese fans to produce some stylistically scintillating action on the way to the upset victory.

Rojas is an aggressive, come-forward fighter who only moves back at times to catch his breath. Can is more of a boxer, but really lets his hands go both inside and out. The result was some true featherweight fireworks in a fight DAZN’s Chris Mannix called an early Fight of the Year candidate for 2019.

Both fighters fought to win, but neither possessed enough power really to hurt the other significantly. The judges favored Can (16-2, 2 KOs) because of his harder thrown punches and the way he kept the pedal to the metal when Rojas (26-3-3, 19 KOs) would tire.

Judges scored the fight 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112 for Can.

Ortiz Jr. Continues KO Streak

Junior welterweight prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr. defeated Jesus Valdez by fifth-round knockout running his impressive stoppage streak to 12 KOs in 12 fights. Ortiz (12-0, 12 KOS) might only be 20 years old, but he fights with an aggressive sort of patience befitting an older, more experienced fighter. The Dallas native sure looks like he’s on his way to a bright future.

Ortiz wore Valdez (23-5-1, 12 KOs) down, battered him into a bloody mess and secured the stoppage win when the referee had seen enough of Valdez’s blood hit the canvas. Ortiz is a hard puncher, but more impressive is the gumption with which he instigates the action and his ability to counter his opponent’s combinations.

Those are the kinds of things that bode well for the prospect’s future. Before the fight, Ortiz said he intends to challenge for a world title by the end of 2019. He’s probably not quite ready for that, but he could be with a few more of the right kinds of fights in the near future.

Other Undercard Bouts

Junior featherweight prospect Alberto Melian (4-0, 2 KOs) stopped Mexico’s Edgar Ortega (10-2-2, 5 KOs) in the 10th round to remain unbeaten. The fight started rough for the Argentinian, but Melian’s Olympic pedigree came through as the fight progressed to the later rounds.

Dallas-based junior middleweight prospect Alex Rincon, 23, beat a very game, Jeremy Ramos in a six rounder. Rincon (6-0, 5Os) had to work hard but stayed unbeaten by steadily outworking Ramos (10-6, 4 KOs).

His older brother, George Rincon (6-0, 3 KOs), knocked out Emmanuel Valadez (5-7, 4 KOs) in the first round of the opener. Rincon, 27, dropped Valadez less than a minute into the fight. The bout was halted soon after.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott

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Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

1 day ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

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Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

3 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

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Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.

Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.

More than 65,000 fans attended.

Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.

Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.

Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.

It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.

In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.

Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.

Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.

There were surprises from both fighters.

Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.

With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.

Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.

Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.

“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.

McKenna Wins

In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.

Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.

McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.

In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.

All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.

Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.

Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Published

5 days ago

April 24, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective,-Chap.-323:-Benn-vs-Eubank-Family-Feud-and-More.jpg

Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.

This is huge in British boxing.

Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

This is about family pride.

The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.

Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.

Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.

Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.

Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.

Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.

This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.

Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.

“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”

Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.

“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.

Eubank smiles.

“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.

Supporting Bout

Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.

“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.

McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.

It’s youth versus experience.

“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.

Monster in L.A.

Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.

It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.

Pomona Fights

Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.

Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).

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