Former WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguía 36-0 (29) is targeting a shot at IBF middleweight champion Gennadiy Golovkin 41-1-1 (36) on Cinco de Mayo.
But the undefeated 24-year-old Mexican, who is co-promoted by Zanfer Promotions and Golden Boy Promotions, could be back in the ring even sooner if the Golovkin fight cannot be made.
“Munguía’s versus Golovkin is a fight that I like a lot,” Zanfer Promotions CEO Fernando Beltrán told ESPN Knockout.
“We are looking for it, but in case nothing is achieved, we will fight in April. We are not going to wait until they say yes.”
Munguía moved up to middleweight last year after making five successful defences of the WBO 154-pound title he won from Sadam Ali in 2018. He stopped Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan in 11 rounds in San Antonio, Texas in January last year and Tureano Johnson in six in Indio, California in October.
Victory over Golovkin could propel Munguía into an all-Mexican showdown with WBC and WBA super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 54-1-2 (36).
“For ages and moments, it reminds me a bit of when Érik Morales dethroned Daniel Zaragoza to reach stardom,” Beltrán continued.
“Jaime has everything to be a star and that is why we seek to keep him active and improving, he is the champion of the people for his dedication in the ring and his spectacular style.”
If terms cannot be reached for the bout against the 38-year-old Golovkin, another option for Munguía is Kanat Islam 27-0 (21). The 36-year-old Kazakh native has not boxed since his 10-round unanimous decision win over Walter Kautondokwa in October 2019.
“We have a lot of interest, we had some talks with our partner Fernando Beltrán and we are looking at that possibility,” Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gómez told ESPN Knockout.
“There is a lot of interest. We obviously have Jaime Munguía in mind for the boxing events on the Cinco de Mayo weekend, and if not Gennadiy Golovkin, we are looking at other options.”
