Jaime Munguia faced a stiffer than expected opponent in Jimmy Kelly at The Honda Center in Anaheim, California yet ended up with a fifth stoppage win in a DAZN televised event.
Munguia, (40-0, 32KO) took time to find a rhythm in the outset of the fight, as Kelly, for Manchester, UK, capitalized and was able to get to Munguia with solid head shots in the early rounds.
“It was difficult in the beginning since he’s a slippery, tough fighter, and he could take a punch,” said Jaime Munguia. “He was trying to do his plan of attack, but I had to do my thing and work the body. My mentality was that I was losing the first three rounds. So I had to follow my plan of slowing him down by attacking the body. I figured out that I had to work through the middle and throw punches like the uppercut. I think it was the punch that I knocked him down with.”
The action thrilled the pro-Mexican crowd and Munguia let his hands go about midway through the fight, leading to three knockdowns in round five and an eventual stoppage win at 2:57.
“I think this fight helped me out a lot. I’m ready to go back to 160 to fight for a world title or move to 168. I’m ready for any challenge. There are a lot of people who are supporting me. I want to say what Oscar said for Charlo to grow some balls and stop hiding behind Haymon. I think it would be great for boxing. We hope that by the end of the year we can get a big fight.”
