The Canelo Alvarez loss isn’t holding back Jaime Munguia. The Tijuana native is coming off an impressive 10th-round knockout victory over previously unbeaten Erik Bazinyan of Armenia. Now, the 27-year-old has reportedly taken on another opponent, which will be his 4th fight of the year.

Munguia started 2024 by squaring off against John Ryder in January, which helped him secure a huge payday against Alvarez. While he spectacularly defeated Ryder via a 9th-round knockout, he could not replicate the result against his Mexican counterpart in May. However, he quickly bounced back by facing Bazinyan in September. So, the question is, who is next? 

Jaime Munguia eyes former super middleweight challenger

According to a report from Salvador Rodriguez of ESPN, Munguia has set his sights on former super middleweight title challenger Ronald Gavril of Romania. The potential fight is being speculated to unfold on 14th December at Munguia’s home turf in Tijuana’s Caliente Stadium. Until his fight with Alvarez, Jaime Munguia fought under the Golden Boy Promotions banner, led by Oscar De La Hoya. However, it appears he’s switched allegiances, as his bout against Bazinyan was under Top Rank. Bob Arum, the chairman of Top Rank, even mentioned in an interview with Boxing Scene that they’re planning a series of fights for Munguia moving forward.

These bouts are reportedly set to take place in Mexico, with Munguia as the centerpiece of the events. Regardless, his potential upcoming fight could cap off the year in exciting fashion. It’s worth noting that Gavril, his likely opponent, faced David Benavidez in 2017, managing to drop the ‘Mexican Monster’ before ultimately losing by split decision.

They eventually met in the ring again for the same WBC super middleweight title the next year, but Benavidez secured a unanimous decision win. With this potential bout dangled in front of them, fans quickly shared their thoughts in the comments. 

Fans celebrate Munguia’s activity

While some fighters may have taken their first career loss too seriously and stopped fighting for a while, Munguia’s increased activity seems to have impressed fans. One user highlighted Benavidez’s performance against Gavril. The user wrote, “Benavidez had problems with this guy.” While Benavidez did face some issues in 2017, it’s worth noting that it was his first title fight and the knockdown happened in round 12. 

Another user praised Jaime Munguia for staying active. The user wrote, “Oh okay Munguia is staying active, I like it.” In fact, this is a drastic change in Munguia’s activity over the years—in 2022, he fought three times, and in 2023, the activity went way down with just a single fight. 

While some users saw Gavril’s knockdown over Benavidez as a plus, this user had other ideas. “That cool but why Gavril? He lost to Benavidez twice,” the user commented. To top it off, Gavril is currently 38, approaching retirement quickly. 

The next user seemed happy with the potential matchup but shared their expectations from Munguia. “Love the activity, hopefully we can get the fight with Christian Mbilli soon,” the user remarked. Christian Mbilli of Cameroon is currently undefeated as he quickly rises through the ranks of the super middleweight division. 

Meanwhile, this user didn’t seem happy at all about the potential fight. The user commented, “They still got this man fighting nobodies.” Munguia has often faced criticism for the lack of big names in his resume. 

That said, Jaime Munguia is clearly not about to stop all the action because of his one loss. While fans don’t seem too opposed to his choice of opponent—the question is, who will be Munguia’s next big opponent?