Jaime Munguia (39-0, 31 KOs) will return on Saturday night as he battler former world title challenger Jimmy Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs) in a 12-round super middleweight fight on Saturday at Anaheim’s Honda Center.
Recently, Munguia was in talks to battle WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo, but those discussions broke down as the two sides could not come to an agreement.
At the final press conference for Munguia-Kelly on Thursday, Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya talked Charlo-Munguia. According to De La Hoya, Munguia’s side is still ready to make the fight.
“In terms of Charlo, we were ready to make the fight,” De La Hoya said. “We were ready to do whatever it took to give Jaime Munguia the fight he wants and everybody has been asking for. One thing about Charlo and the whole PBC stable is that they hide behind Al Haymon; that’s the bottom line. We don’t want to make ordinary fights; we want to make the best fights. I hope Charlo grows some balls and tells his promoter to fight the very best. These are the fights boxing needs and the fights the fans deserve.”
“I’m not going to exclude our partner DAZN from any type of negotiation. There’s always room for negotiation. Meet us halfway; we can walk across the street; we can meet in the middle of the street. There is no protection; Munguia is ready for anyone. They’re hiding behind Al Haymon, and that’s the bottom line. If the fighters really want to fight, they have to stop saying, ‘talk to my promoter/manager.’ The fighters have a voice, and they need to use it.”
Every story has two sides, so who knows what is true. According to ESPN’s Mike Coppinger, Charlo-Munguia talks broke down due to a dispute over U.S. broadcast rights.
Many would love to see Charlo-Munguia and other fights in boxing, but too often, the business of boxing gets in the way.
