Coach Jose Benavidez Sr. advises Jaime Munguia not to take the rematch with Bruno Surace after he was knocked out by him in the sixth round last Saturday night in Tijuana, Mexico on December 14th.
Jose Sr. says Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) will be “super motivated” after his win, and he could cause another “upset” in the rematch with former WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) ). Benavidez Sr. wants Munguia to walk away from the loss, live his life and not take on a second fight.
Avoid the Rematch
Jose Sr. felt Munguia should have finished Surace after dropping him in round two. He thinks he let him go because he wanted to please the fans. It didn’t seem like it. Munguia appeared to try to knock him out, but he changed his mind after Surace, 26, nailed him to the head with a massive right hand.
That shot made Munguia back down because it was as hard as the one that knocked him out in the sixth.
According to ESPN Knockout’s Salvador Rodriguez, Munguia’s promoters at Zanfer want to activate the rematch clause in their contract with Surace to force a second fight in the first half of 2025.
“I think he took his time and tried to find the perfect shot. I think he should have been Jaime,” Jose Benavidez Sr. said Fight Hub TV when asked why Jaime Munguia suffered an upset knockout loss to Bruno Surace last Saturday night.
“I think he (Munguia) tried to please the people, his fans, and that’s what happened. I think if he had pushed the gas a little more, I think he would have stopped him when he dropped him (in lap two). He probably thought, ‘This guy is too easy. I’m going to give my fans a show, and then I can put him out.’
“It’s a big mistake he made. I think he should have stopped him, and he should have gone with everything and taken things seriously. It’s a bit difficult. I would let it go. I wouldn’t take the rematch. I will move on with my life and not accept that fight,” Jose Sr. said. said when asked if Munguia should take the rematch with Surace.
It will be interesting to know if Jose Sr would have the same attitude of not taking the rematch if his son David Benavidez is knocked out by Surace. Would he recommend that David not trigger the rematch clause if Surace poleaxed him in the sixth round last Saturday night?
“Now that guy is in his mind. That guy is super motivated, and he showed the world what he can do. You can imagine what motivation he has now. Actually he (Surace) is a pretty good fighter. He scored really well, and I think we can have another upset,” Jose Sr. said.
