Jaime Munguia called out Caleb Plant and Edgar Berlanga after his 10th stop win over Erik Bazinyan (32-1 23 KOs) in the main event on Friday night at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
(Credit: Mikey Williams/Top Rank)
Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs) wants a big name to be ranked high and set himself up for another world title challenge. Beating Plant or Plant would be an excellent way to climb to the top and get a rematch with unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez.
Former WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia also said he wants to fight Christian Mbilli, ranked no. 1 WBC. However, he is coming off an injury from his recent fight against Sergiy Derevyanchenko, and only wants to challenge for a world title against Canelo next. Mbilli has already won his world title. It wouldn’t make sense for him to put that place at risk against Munguia.
Those two fighters will be risky for Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs), who had problems with Bazinyan’s jab and occasional punch outbursts last night. The fight against the huge boxer Berlanga or skilled boxer Plant would be difficult for Munguia from what he showed against Bazinyan.
Plant had mentioned that he wanted to fight Munguia next after his recent win over Trevor McCumby on September 14th. It would be an excellent fight for the fans.
“There are great things to come, great fights at 168 pounds. There is Caleb Plant, Berlanga, Christian Mbilli. There are great fights, and we will also give great wars,” said Munguia when interviewed after his victory over Bazinyan.
Berlanga’s management will likely decline Munguia’s offer because he expects to take a tune-up fight after early 2025 in New York or Puerto Rico to rebuild after his loss to Canelo on September 14.
Going from losing to Canelo in a punishing fight to facing a big puncher like Munguia would not be a smart move for Berlanga.
Of the three fighters that Munguia named, Plant (23-2, 14 KOs) is the most realistic of who will take him up on the offer. Caleb Plant needs a win like this to increase his chances of getting a lucrative rematch against Canelo. In 2021, former IBF super middleweight champion Plant was knocked out by Alvarez in the 11th round.
This loss for Plant makes it necessary for him to get a big win over a big name fighter like Munguia to strengthen his position for a rematch against Canelo. Plant’s recent win over the little-known McCumby wasn’t big enough to encourage Canelo to fight again.
