Former WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia 38-0 (30) continued his unbeaten run with a thrilling 12-round victory over seasoned campaigner ‘King’ Gabriel Rosado 26-14-1 (15) at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on Saturday night.
The middleweight contest produced great two-way action in another installment of the storied Mexico vs Puerto Rico rivalry.
The 25-year-old Munguia of Tijuana, Mexico had the edge in the early going before Rosado rallied in the middle rounds to land some hard power shots. But every time Rosado, 35, gained some momentum Munguia would retaliate with combination punches of his own.
The fight heated up in the back half with both boxers getting busy. According to CompuBox, Munguia averaging 81 punches per round including 46 power punches.
It was this activity down the homestretch the got Munguia over the line.
Munguia landed 48% of his power punches, while Rosado landed 42% of his own. Munguia’s 328 landed punches were the most by a Rosado opponent.
As the fight went to the scorecards, the judges ruled in favor of Munguia via unanimous decision with scores of 118-110, 119-109, and 117-111.
“I didn’t think that Rosado would last that long in the ring,” said Munguia. “He was very resilient, but I think I showed in the ninth round and on that I was dominating the fight.
“I am happy we were able to take the victory today. Now, I want to go back to the gym, work on a few things and fight for a world title eliminator or a world championship at 160.”
Rosado was less than happy with the result.
“I think I did all I could to win, the score cards are bullshit. I won the fight,” said Rosado.
Promoter Oscar De La Hoya praised both boxers for the show they delivered.
“I think Munguia showed a lot of strength and a lot of heart today,” the Golden Boy Promotions boss said.
“Rosado show a lot of a guts, they really left it all in the ring. I want to thank them both for giving us the ‘Fight of the Year’.”
Former four-weight world champion Erik Morales, who now trains Munguia, was impressed by his young charge.
“Both fighters gave us a show today,” Morales said. “Rosado was very tough, resilient. He surprised us all. It was a good showing from Munguia. I am very proud of him. He showed bravery and strength in the ring tonight.”
Rosado’s trainer Freddie Roach believed the fight was closer than the scorecards indicated, but he did not dispute the result.
“I think both fighters were very brave, very tough,” said Roach. “I think that the scores should have been closer than they were, but you know, that’s boxing. But overall, a very exciting fight, I think maybe ‘Fight of the Year’.”
