Jaime Munguia breaks down undefeated Erik Bazinyan, scores a 10th round KO
Jaime Munguia overcame a determined challenge from previously undefeated Erik Bazinyan, knocking him out in the tenth round of their fight at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Az.
The former WBO junior middleweight title holder continued to apply relentless pressure throughout the fight before a left hook on the ropes put the Canadian-based Armenian in the count at 2:36.
The victory comes in Munguia’s (44-1, 35 knockouts) first fight under the new promoter of Top Rank, and allows him to bounce back from the first defeat of his career, a unanimous decision loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in May.
However, the fight was far from a listless singing assignment for Munguia, 27.
“It was a fight that I had to do smartly. You are strong. He hits hard. So we had to break him and be careful with body shots. And in the 10th round, that’s when I decided to go all out. That’s how we got the key to put him down,” said Munguia who is ranked no. 2 by The Ring at 168 pounds.
SHOW. STOPPER.
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Munguia was starting to pull away when the judges stopped, the judges were leading 88-83, 87-84 and 86-85 when the fight ended. Bazinyan did very well on the David Sutherland card, winning four of the first five rounds before losing four in a row before being knocked out.
“I felt like I was winning. I could feel him getting very frustrated with my jab, right hand, and counters. He was tired. Suddenly I was caught. I don’t know what happened there,” said Bazinyan.
Bazinyan, 29, started aggressively in the first round, keeping Munguia at bay with his jab and straight right hand. Bazinyan, who had Quebec-based trainer Marc Ramsay in his corner, maintained distance control in the first two rounds, as Munguia tried to push the pace in the third. Bazinyan regained control of the fight in the fourth round as he began double-triggering, catching Munguia whenever he kept his head still and disrupted his rhythm.
Munguia finally turned a corner in the sixth round as he began to roll under Bazinyan’s straight punches coming in with left hooks around the guard. Bazinyan, admitted that he was shot every time they were close, he was trying to be more careful instead of throwing punches. The body punches were beginning to slow down Bazinyan, who was fighting in the first twelve rounds of his 11-year professional career.
Bazinyan was hurt for the first time in the seventh after a right hand, which connected when he attempted a right uppercut, fell to the ground followed by a left hook that sent him into the ropes. Bazinyan showed incredible power to return and began to look for opportunities to fight, especially with a straight right hand.
As Bazinyan began to lose momentum, Munguia began to break Bazinyan.
Munguia used the roll that had opened up his opponent earlier to get the upper hand in the tenth, hurting Bazinyan with a hook as he stood upright. Referee Thomas Taylor advised Bazinyan that he should start the fight, which he did, but his determination to return the jab gave him an opportunity to look for a left hook which led to the end of the fight.
Munguia has expressed his interest in facing other top fights at 168 pounds in the future, including RING no. One entrant is Christian Mbilli (28-0, 23 KOs), a Montreal-based competitor promoted by Top Rank and Eye of the Tiger Management. Munguia also named Edgar Berlanga and Caleb Plant, too.
“There are big fights, and we will give big fights.”
