Jaime Munguia KOs Erik Bazinyan in super middleweight scorcher
Richard Torrez Jr. wins via DQ in co-feature
Jaime Munguia took a little time to get going, but when he did, the end was near.
The Mexican super middleweight star rebounded from May’s defeat to Canelo Alvarez with a 10th-round knockout Friday evening over the previously unbeaten Erik Bazinyan at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
Bazinyan (32-1-1, 23 KOs) initiated the early rounds with a sharp jab followed by occasional right hands as Munguia calmly closed the distance. The 27-year-old fighting pride of Tijuana had success when he aimed at the body, but Bazinyan had his moments as well.
Then, head trainer Erik Morales urged Munguia (44-1, 35 KOs) to increase the pressure, and Munguia hurt Bazinyan with body shots in the sixth and hard rights to the head in the seventh.
Bazinyan regained his composure in the following rounds, and Munguia conserved in the ninth, setting the stage for the climactic 10th.
“It was a fight I had to do intelligently. He’s strong. He hits hard. So, we had to break him down and be careful with shots to the body. And in the 10th round, that’s when I decided to come out with everything. And that’s how we got the knockout,” Munguia said. “There are great things to come, great fights at 168 pounds. There’s Caleb Plant, Berlanga, Christian Mbilli. There are great fights, and we will give great wars as well.”
Bazinyan said, “I felt like I was winning. I felt he was very frustrated with my jab, right hand, and counters. He was getting tired. All of a sudden, I got caught. I don’t know what happened there.”
Things you didn’t know about Munguia
Torrez gets past “The Tank”
Richard Torrez Jr. (11-0, 10 KOs) came to continue his knockout streak, but Joey Dawejko (28-12-4, 16 KOs) had other plans.
The 25-year-old Olympic silver medalist was well on his way to winning via stoppage, pummeling Dawejko with left and right hands in the second and fourth rounds. Dawejko’s mouthpiece came out several times throughout the battle, and referee Wes Melton deducted a pair of points from the Philadelphia native in the fourth.
Following a heated exchange in the fifth, the mouthpiece came out again, and Melton had seen enough.
Torrez said, “Joey was a vet, just like I said. He didn’t give up. That mouthpiece just came out a little too much. That’s a veteran move, but at the end of the day, congratulations to him. He put up a good fight. I think we were able to show more boxing ability that I was telling you about.”
Vargas finishes Fryers in five
The young junior welterweight phenom keeps on trucking. Emiliano Fernando Vargas (12-0, 10 KOs) passed the stiffest test of his burgeoning career, stopping Irishman Larry Fryers (13-7-1, 5 KOs) in the fifth round.
Vargas sensed his speed advantage early, firing off quick shots before changing stances to land more from different angles. In rounds three and four, the 20-year-old began to sit on his punches and carefully place his counters. In the following stanza, Vargas uncorked an overhand left from the southpaw stance that crumped the eight-year pro.
Vargas said, “I learned experience. Every time I’m in the ring, I pick up more experience under my belt. You learn on the job. I don’t care what anyone says. There’s no video on how to be a professional fighter. I’m just blessed to do it here for the beautiful Arizona fans.”
Undercard
Junior Lightweight: Charly Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs) picked up the WBO International junior lightweight title with a devastating third-round stoppage over Texas-born veteran Jorge Castañeda (17-4, 13 KOs). The world-rated Filipino contender floored Castaneda with a left hook in the third round. Castañeda attempted to shake off the cobwebs, but he was soon met with a right-left combination that dropped him and ended the one-way assault.
Junior Welterweight: The normally light-punching Ricardo Fernandez (16-13, 2 KOs) pulled off a stunning upset in the fifth round with a crunching overhand right that knocked out previously unbeaten prospect Alan Garcia (14-1, 11 KOs). Despite Garcia controlling the first four rounds and leading 40-36 on all three scorecards, Fernandez seized his opportunity to land the decisive punch. Time of stoppage: 2:25.
Junior Lightweight: DJ Zamora (14-0, 9 KOs) registered an eight-round unanimous decision over Gerardo Antonio Perez (12-6-1, 3 KOs). Zamora dictated the pace with long, precise punches, keeping Perez on the defensive and buzzing him often in the later rounds. Scores: 80-72 2x and 79-73.
Junior Bantamweight: Unbeaten 20-year-old phenom Steven Navarro (4-0, 3 KOs) scored two knockdowns en route to a third-round stoppage win versus Oscar Arroyo (3-3, 2 KOs). Navarro bewildered Arroyo by constantly switching stances and changing his speed before forcing referee Chris Flores to halt the one-way assault at 2:35.
Junior Middleweight: Jorge Garcia Perez (31-4, 26 KOs) barely broke a sweat, stopping Ilias Essaoudi (22-3, 15 KOs) at 46 seconds of the opening round with a savage right uppercut to the body.
Junior Featherweight: Mexican rising star Sebastian Hernandez (17-0, 16 KOs) notched his 15th consecutive knockout, dispatching Yonfrez Parejo (24-7-1, 12 KOs) following four one-sided rounds. Parejo’s corner stopped the fight, marking the third straight defeat for the former interim world champion.