Jaime Munguia (39-0) and William Zepeda (25-0) Score KOs at a Tijuana Bullring

A boyhood dream was fulfilled as Mexico’s Jaime Munguia won by knockout over American middleweight D’Mitrius Ballard at a Tijuana bullring that he once attended as a fan long ago. The circle was completed on Saturday.

“I was a kid and sat at the very top to watch Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight,” said Munguia of a Chavez fight that took place in March 2009. “I promised one day I would fight here.”

Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) proved in front of more than 15,000 hometown fans at the Plaza Monumental in Tijuana, Mexico, that he’s a much-improved fighter and a legitimate middleweight capable of competing with the elite middleweights.

Inside the bullring situated by the Tijuana Beach, Munguia (pictured) showcased more added defensive skills and patience taught by his trainer Erik Morales who once reigned supreme in the same city. It looks like Tijuana has another hero.

Munguia was patient against Ballard who seemed as tall as the Mexican fighter but appeared to be stronger. Appearances can be deceiving.

After an opening round of jabbing to the body and head by both fighters, action picked up in the second round as Munguia wobbled Ballard with a left hook. The Mexican fighter then slipped into a more aggressive gear, but Ballard survived.

“In the third round my trainer Erik Morales told me to press forward and push him back,” said Munguia whose defensive and offensive improvements can be traced to Morales.

During an exchange Munguia caught Ballard with a counter left hook that staggered the Maryland fighter and that was followed by a rain of punches that floored the visiting fighter. Ballard beat the count and was met with another barrage of blows. One snapped his head back and the referee jumped in to stop the fight.

The end came at 1:47 of the third round for the knockout win by Munguia.

Munguia, the former super welterweight world titlist and the number one middleweight contender in one sanctioning organization, said he’s ready for any world champion.

“We’re ready for a title shot,” said Munguia. “The best one’s, whoever comes.”

Other Bouts

There were slips, trips and drops as promising Mexico City prospect William Zepeda (25-0, 23 KOs) remained undefeated with his 13^th consecutive knockout win over the unorthodox punches of last-minute replacement Luis Viedas (29-12-1).

Zepeda, 25, has emerged as a lightweight that nobody wants to face unless your name is Viedas. And it was the strange punching style of the Tijuana fighter that allowed him to survive three rounds though he was knocked down in the second, and twice in the third. He even managed a knockdown of his own of Zepeda in a weird exchange of blows that caused the referee to deduct a point from Zepeda after he had already ruled a knockdown of the undefeated fighter.

Strange indeed.

But Zepeda took complete control of the fight in the third round by ramping up his attack and flooring the bearded Tijuana fighter twice with the end coming after a right to the temple. Viedas was counted out at 1:51 of the third round.

The high-powered arsenal of Diego Torres (14-0, 13 KOs) was nullified by battle- hardened Jonathan Escobedo (8-3-1) who taught the undefeated fighter that power isn’t everything. The judges seemed to have the scores mailed in before the actual fight with an absurd 98-91 and 97-92 twice in favor of Torres. I guess body shots landed by Escobedo didn’t count.

It was the first time Torres did not win by knockout, but he did win by unanimous decision despite a point deduction in the fight for losing his mouthpiece repeatedly. Still, it was a great opening bout for the televised portion of the card.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE