This Saturday will see one of boxing’s brightest young stars step back in the ring as former world champion Jaime Munguia (36-0) faces off against Kamil Szeremeta (21-1).
At just 24 years old, Jaime Munguia has already had an accomplished boxing career winning the WBO Super Welterweight title in 2018. He would reign as champion for a year before moving up to middleweight.
This will be his third fight at middleweight and his first since October 2020 when he beat Tureano Johnson by brutal stoppage giving him a gruesome cut on his lip after an uppercut.
Kamil Szeremeta is largely an unknown fighter that became well-known last year for his knockout loss to Gennady Golovkin. The win allowed GGG to set the record for the most successful middleweight title defenses in boxing history.
Prior to his bout with Golovkin, Szeremeta was unbeaten mostly fighting in his native Poland most notably winning the European Middleweight title in 2018.
Keys to victory for Jaime Munguia
Jaime Munguia is rightfully the overwhelming favorite to win this fight by stoppage, however, Szeremeta will surely make him work for the win.
Though he lost to GGG, Kamil Szeremeta showed great toughness continuing to get off the canvas despite being beaten down by a fighter as powerful as Golovkin. While Munguia is younger and almost just as powerful, he can not underestimate Szeremeta’s ability to take a punch.
Ultimately, Munguia will need to be aggressive but also have some patience and poise. He has the power to put Szeremeta away its just a matter of how hard he is willing to work for the stoppage because if he tries to force it he could get himself in trouble.
How does Kamil Szeremeta pull off the upset?
Seeing that only five of Kamil Szeremeta’s 21 wins have come by knockout and Jaime Munguia has an 80% knockout percentage, the simple answer is to not engage.
He needs to be much sharper defensively and much smarter offensively than he was against GGG. He will need to earn Munguia’s respect with smart counterpunching timing his opponent’s combinations and movement in the ring.
Ultimately, this fight will have to go the distance for Szeremeta to win it and that still may not be enough.
Jaime Munguia vs. Kamil Szeremeta prediction
This fight is a great opportunity for Jaime Munguia to get in contention for his first world title shot at 160 lbs most likely coming against Gennady Golovkin. He will have to look more dominant in victory than GGG did in order to gain his attention.
While I do not believe this will be an easy outing for Munguia, I have him putting away Szeremeta in five rounds.
Standout Fights on the Undercard
Bektemir Melikuziev (7-0) vs. Gabriel Rosado (25-13-1), 12 rounds
Most know Gabriel Rosado for his appearance in the blockbuster film Creed starring Michael B. Jordan and Sylvester Stallone. However, not seeing him fight in real life is doing yourself a real disservice as he is pound-for-pound one of the toughest fighters in boxing today.
Putting his less than spectacular record aside, he makes all of his opponents work for the win when they step in the ring with him due to his refusal to quit even when he is hurt.
His opponent, 25-year-old Bektemir Melikuziev looks to cement himself as a world title threat against a respected veteran in Rosado.
Melikuziev himself is a very powerful puncher winning six of his seven fights by knockout including three inside the first round. He is also very calculated not often taking many risks punishing his opponents to the body setting up big shots up top. Look for this to potentially be the fight of the night on this card.
Blair Cobbs (14-0-1) vs. Brad Solomon (29-3)
Of all the fights on this card, this one surely has the chance to be the most unorthodox. While most boxing fans know Blair Cobbs for his outgoing personality, he has the talent to back it up.
He is very aggressive almost to a fault at times as he tends to tire himself when the fight goes into the latter rounds. However, he makes fights exciting for his willingness to recklessly trade with his opponent.
Brad Solomon comes into this fight losing two of his last three including a knockout loss to welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz. However, if his bout against Alexis Rocha is any indication, he knows how to handle adversity getting off the canvas after taking a huge punch in the 10th round.
If Cobbs is able to get Solomon to engage, this fight could be very exciting.
Start Time/How to Watch
- When: Saturday, June 19, 2021
- Start time: 3:30 p.m.
- How to watch: DAZN app
