MONTERREY, Mexico -- When you become a champion at a very young age, and much sooner than anyone expected, it sometimes means you have to pump the breaks. That has been the case with Jaime Munguia who won the WBO junior middleweight title in a fight against Sadam Ali in 2018. On April 13 Munguia will put that title on the line against Dennis Hogan, a fighter he will be a big favorite against, on DAZN.
At just 22 years old, Munguia (32-0, 26 KOs) is a big junior middleweight who usually has a noticeable size advantage when he enters the ring. Don't expect to see a skillful jab or fancy footwork from the young pugilist. Instead, he relies on pressure and power. Munguia loves to fight on the inside where he can pound away to the body and he can score knockouts with his left hook or right hand. He does tend to get wide with his punches though and his defense is usually nowhere to be found.
People really started to take notice of the young Mexican puncher when he was turned down as a possible opponent for middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. That turned out to be a blessing for his career because instead of Golovking, Munguia took on Sadam Ali, a blown up welterweight who had just captured a junior middleweight title by beating Miguel Cotto. Munguia made the best of his opportunity, dropping Ali four times en route to a fourth round stoppage. He followed that up with an uneven performance against Liam Smith, an early stoppage win over Brandon Cook, and a tougher than expected bout against Takeshi Inoue. While Munguia is very young he also takes a lot of punishment in his fights and doesn't look like the type of fighter who will have an exceptionally long career. Many think that the goal is to eventually have an all-Mexican showdown against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, but first Munguia will have to take care of business against Hogan, and probably a few more opponents before that fight ever materializes.
Hogan (28-1-1, 7 KOs) will enter the ring with a few disadvantages. The most notable will be his size since he is 4-inches shorter than Munguia. Hogan is also 12 years older than the champion and doesn't have nearly as much power. Hogan has a pretty nice jab and when he actually sits down on his punches he flashes a good left hook. The problem is that he often doesn't sit down on his punches and will just paw at his opponent. If he had more power he could try to keep Munguia at the end of his jab and accurate straight right hand but he just doesn't hit hard enough. Hogan does have a good chin and he moves a little better than Munguia does but he isn't that hard to hit so there should be plenty of leather exchanged in this fight.
Hogan, who was born in Ireland but fights out of Australia, has spent most of his career fighting down under. While Munguia isn't exactly an elite fighter he still represents a step up for Hogan who most notable opponents to date are guys like Jimmy Kelly and Jack Culcay. This will be Hogan's second shot at a world title. The first came against Culcay in 2015 and he dropped that fight by the way of unanimous decision. At 34 years old this will probably be Hogan's last shot at a title so look for him to capitalize.
If Hogan had more power and was a slicker fighter this bout might be more interesting. As it stands now Hogan has disadvantages when it comes to size, age, and power. Munguia clearly has some flaws but his relentlessness and power has, so far, made up for those flaws. Fans have seen Munguia get tagged early before wearing his opponent down and they can expect more of the same in this fight. Hogan might look sharper for the first few rounds and may even win a few with his jab and movement. It shouldn't take long for Munguia to get inside though and once he does Hogan could find himself in some serious trouble.
PREDICTION: Dennis Hogan should consider this fight a success if he goes all 12 rounds or wins more than three. The advantages are too numerous in Jaime Munguia's favor and he will impose those advantages and stop Hogan in the fifth round.
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| Munguia punishing Brandon Cook with a right hand |
People really started to take notice of the young Mexican puncher when he was turned down as a possible opponent for middleweight champion Gennady Golovkin. That turned out to be a blessing for his career because instead of Golovking, Munguia took on Sadam Ali, a blown up welterweight who had just captured a junior middleweight title by beating Miguel Cotto. Munguia made the best of his opportunity, dropping Ali four times en route to a fourth round stoppage. He followed that up with an uneven performance against Liam Smith, an early stoppage win over Brandon Cook, and a tougher than expected bout against Takeshi Inoue. While Munguia is very young he also takes a lot of punishment in his fights and doesn't look like the type of fighter who will have an exceptionally long career. Many think that the goal is to eventually have an all-Mexican showdown against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, but first Munguia will have to take care of business against Hogan, and probably a few more opponents before that fight ever materializes.
Hogan (28-1-1, 7 KOs) will enter the ring with a few disadvantages. The most notable will be his size since he is 4-inches shorter than Munguia. Hogan is also 12 years older than the champion and doesn't have nearly as much power. Hogan has a pretty nice jab and when he actually sits down on his punches he flashes a good left hook. The problem is that he often doesn't sit down on his punches and will just paw at his opponent. If he had more power he could try to keep Munguia at the end of his jab and accurate straight right hand but he just doesn't hit hard enough. Hogan does have a good chin and he moves a little better than Munguia does but he isn't that hard to hit so there should be plenty of leather exchanged in this fight.
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| Hogan having his hand raised in victory |
If Hogan had more power and was a slicker fighter this bout might be more interesting. As it stands now Hogan has disadvantages when it comes to size, age, and power. Munguia clearly has some flaws but his relentlessness and power has, so far, made up for those flaws. Fans have seen Munguia get tagged early before wearing his opponent down and they can expect more of the same in this fight. Hogan might look sharper for the first few rounds and may even win a few with his jab and movement. It shouldn't take long for Munguia to get inside though and once he does Hogan could find himself in some serious trouble.
PREDICTION: Dennis Hogan should consider this fight a success if he goes all 12 rounds or wins more than three. The advantages are too numerous in Jaime Munguia's favor and he will impose those advantages and stop Hogan in the fifth round.
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