Jaime Munguia (left) and Erik Bazinyan square off during Wednesday’s final press conference. They meet Friday at the top of an ESPN tripleheader from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona. Photo credit: Mikey Williams, Top Rank
Jaime Munguia is ready for the next phase of his still promising career.
The former WBO junior middleweight titleholder and current 168-pound contender is set for his first fight since the lone loss of his career. Tijuana’s Munguia was 167.7 pounds, while Canada’s Erik Bazinyan weighed in at 167.9 pounds.
Their scheduled 12-round super middleweight bout brings an ESPN tripleheader Friday from Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Munguia (43-1, 34 KOs) is coming off a May 4 loss to RING super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (62-2-2, 39 KOs). Their match was Munguia’s first fight as a Pay-Per-View main event.
Friday marks his debut on ESPN and is aligned with Top Rank. He enters the fight as The Ring’s no. 2-rated super middleweight.
Top Rank went all out for its first fight under its umbrella. His entrance came with a promotional package and a live mariachi band.
Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) is no stranger to the platform. The Ring’s no. 7-rated competitor has appeared multiple times on ESPN+ under Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger Management promotion.
However, his last outing took some shine off his career progression. Bazinyan suffered his first blemish on May 2 in Montreal in a ten-round draw against the unbeaten Shakeel Phinn.
The fight against Munguia is Bazinyan’s first on American soil since 2019.
ESPN Undercard (10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT)
Richard Torrez Jr (10-0, 10 KOs), Tulare, Calif., 232.6 pounds
Joey Dawejko (28-11-4, 16 KOs), Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 244.1 pounds
8 rounds, heavyweight
Emiliano Vargas (11-0, 9 KOs), Las Vegas via Oxnard, Calif., 139.2 lbs
Larry Fryers (13-6-1, 5 KOs), Clones, Ireland, 138.2 lbs
8 rounds, junior welterweight
ESPN+ Preliminary Undercard (6:15 PM ET/3:15 PM PT)
Charly Suarez (17-0, 9 KOs), Manila, Philippines, 129.4 lbs
Jorge Castaneda (17-3, 13 KOs), Laredo, Texas, 129.1 lbs
10 rounds, junior lightweight
Alan Garcia (14-0, 11 KOs), Ulysses, Kansas, pound, 137.3 pounds
Ricardo Fernandez (15-13, 1 KO), Longoro, Spain, 137.2 lbs
Demler “DJ” Zamora (13-0, 9 KOs), Las Vegas, Nevada, 130.7 pounds
Gerardo Antonio Perez (12-5-1, KOs), Salta, Argentina 133.2 lbs*
8 rounds, junior lightweight (contract limit of 131 pounds; *Perez 2.2 pounds left)
Steven Navarro (3-0, 3 KOs), Los Angeles, Calif., 115.2 lbs
Oscar Arroyo (3-2, 2 KOs), West Hempstead, New York, 114.4 lbs
6 rounds, junior bantamweight
Jorge Garcia (30-4, 25 KOs), Los Mochis, Mexico, 156.2 lbs
Ilias Essaoudi (22-2, 15 KOs), Fort Myers, Florida via Offenbach, Germany 156.6 lbs
10 rounds, junior middleweight
Sebastian Hernandez (16-0, 15 KOs), San Diego via Tijuana, Mexico, 120.4 lbs
Yonfrez Parejo (24-6-1, 12 KOs), Las Vegas via Valencia, Venezuela, 125 lbs
8 rounds, junior featherweight (*Parejo way over the limit)
