Jaime Munguia Scores a Definitive KO Over John Ryder

It’s always a treat when a big fight lives up to its billing, and that was the case tonight in Phoenix, Arizona as Jaime Munguia stopped John Ryder at 1:25 of the ninth blazing round of a sloppy slugfest that drove the crowd wild.

Munguia, from Tijuana by way of Los Angeles, and British visitor Ryder knew the stakes were very high for their super-middleweight battle, and both worthy warriors performed like it. Nearly 10,000 fans screamed for Munguia from the moment his entrance was projected onto the overhead scoreboard screen, proving his star power and potential marketability as a potential foe for Canelo Alvarez.

The opening frame was relatively close as both men, each weighing 167 ¾, traded probing jabs and grazing one-twos. By the second session both were landing with power though it looked like Munguia handled the impact better, and he dropped Ryder with a straight right in a punishing preview of what was to come. Ryder looked troubled as the third began but landed shots of his own as they circled mid-ring, and scored pretty well until a short counter dropped him off-balance again in the fourth.

In the fifth, Munguia landed a huge right to the temple that signaled the inevitable. Ryder never gave up, and fought back well in the sixth but victory seemed out of reach for him by the middle frames.

The pace slowed for the only time all night in the seventh, which helped Ryder’s cause, but by the eighth they were back to trading bombs. Suddenly, in round nine, Munguia charged out behind a whirlwind barrage and dropped Ryder twice more with a fine variety of punches. Ryder’s trainer Tony Sims correctly threw in the towel as members of the commission stood on the apron waving to get referee Wes Melton’s attention.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have another early entry for KO of the year.

“I’m very happy because I worked so hard for this,” said a somewhat scuffed-up Munguia. “A lot of people didn’t believe in me, but I’m ready for 168 pounds. Ryder was a great fighter, my hands actually hurt because I hit him so much. Now I’m ready to keep going forward. I don’t know what’s next but my next fight will be even better than this.”

The boisterous swarm at Footprint Center was well warmed up for the headlining clash with an eight-bout undercard led by the semi-main in which Oscar Collazo defended his WBO Minimumweight belt with a rousing third round stoppage over willing but outgunned Reyneris Gutierrez. It was a tough act to follow in terms of brawling action, but Munguia and Ryder were more than ready.

Is Munguia ready for Canelo?  There’s a good chance we’ll find out this year.

“If Canelo gives me a chance, it would be an honor to be in the same ring as him,” said Munguia, with hope in his slightly swollen eye.

Photo credit: Cris Esqueda / Golden Boy

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