One week after HBO televised the latest bout of one of their top superstars, the network will now turn its head to someone they hope can reach superstar levels.
In the main event of the May 12 HBO boxing card from the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, Sadam Ali will defend his WBO junior middleweight title against replacement opponent Jaime Munguia, who is fighting for his first world title.
This will be Ali’s first world title defense since retiring Puerto Rican icon Miguel Cotto last December in one of the sport’s biggest upsets of 2017. This was Ali’s first world title in his second attempt after coming up short in his first title fight when he got stopped by Jessie Vargas in 2016 with the WBO welterweight title on the line. Despite winning the world title, Ali is still out to prove that he is deserving of the world by beating one of the top up-and-coming Mexican boxers in the world. Ali was originally supposed to fight former champion Liam Smith on May 12, but Smith suffered a skin condition that prevented from getting ready to fight Ali, which meant the door was open for Munguia to replace Smith.
Munguia is a relatively unknown boxer outside of his home country of Mexico up until a month ago when he appeared to be Gennady Golovkin’s replacement opponent for his May 5 middleweight title defense. That is until a ruling from the Nevada State Athletic Commission prevented Munguia from getting the fight. Although Ali is no Golovkin, Ali is still a significant step up in competition.
The knockout specialist has already fought twice in 2018, most recently scoring a third-round knockout win over Johnny Navarrete back in March. For Munguia, who is the WBO’s No. 4 ranked junior middleweight, this is the first true test of his skills as a boxer and ability to handle a big main event environment in the United States despite being 21 years old.
The co-feature bout of the HBO card is another world title fight featuring WBC super bantamweight champion Rey Vargas. Vargas, who towers over the 122-pound division at 5’7.5”, will be making his third world title defense against Azat Hovhannisyan, who has not lost since 2014 and won his way to a world title opportunity with a sixth-round knockout over former world title challenger Ronny Rios.
Here's the main televised card (10 p.m. EST/HBO):
- Sadam Ali (c) vs. Jaime Munguia: WBO Junior Middleweight title
- Rey Vargas (c) vs. Azat Hovhannisyan: WBC Super Bantamweight title
Here's the untelevised card:
- Eddie Gomez vs. Ulises Jimenez
- Kevin Rivers vs. Diuhl Olguin
- George Rincon vs. Corey Gulley
- Luis Vargas vs. Damian Lewis
- Lawrence Gabriel vs. Brad Vargeson
Tale of the Tape:
Sadam Ali:
- Record: 26-1 (14 KO)
- Age: 29
- Titles Won: WBO junior middleweight, WBA International welterweight, WBO Intercontinental weltwerweight, Interim WBO-NABO welterweight
- Notable Opponents: Miguel Cotto, Jessie Vargas
Jaime Munguia:
- Record: 28-0 (24 KO)
- Age: 21
- Titles Won: WBC Latino junior middleweight
- Notable Opponents: Johnny Navarrete
Betting Odds (Provided By Paddy Power):
- Sadam Ali Winning: 4/11
- Jaime Munguia Winning: 15/8
- Fight Ends In A Draw: 25/1
