By Ian S Palmer
The WBO Inter-Continental Middleweight Title will be on the line this Saturday, June 19 when unbeaten former WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Jaime Munguia of Mexico takes on Kamil Szeremeta of Poland. The 12-round bout from El Paso, Texas can be seen live in most nations on DAZN on with the card set to start at approximately 3:30 pm ET. Munguia last boxed in October when he stopped Tureano Johnson after six rounds. Szeremeta was last in action in December when he was stopped after seven rounds by IBF and IBO Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin.
The 24-year-old Munguia of Tijuana definitely likes to stay active as this will be his 37th fight since turning pro in July of 2013 when he was a teenager. He enters the contest with a perfect mark of 36-0 along with 29 big Kos. He first stepped up in class against Sadam Ali when he stopped him in five rounds in May, 2018 for the WBO Jr. Middleweight Title and looked like a beast while stopping him convincingly. He then defended the belt against Liam Smith, Brandon Cook, Takeshi Inoue, Dennis Hogan and Patrick Allotey before moving up to middleweight.
Since then he’s stopped Gary O’Sullivan in the 11th round in 2019 and then Johnson. Most of those fights highlighted Munguia’s defensive shortcomings but that’s a part of what makes him so exciting. Of course the other part of his fan-friendly style is the fact that he has some dynamite in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 80.6 per cent. He reportedly went 128-10 in the amateurs and has 149 rounds of pro experience under his belt since.
Munguia entered the title fight against Ali three years ago as a hungry boxer who wanted to make a name for himself on the world stage and he certainly did that. However, he struggled against Dennis Hogan and Takeshi Inoue as he went the distance in both of them and took quite a few shots. He also had trouble making the 154 lb weight limit and this will be just his third fight in the 160 lb middleweight division. Munguia stands 6-feet tall but has an unlisted reach.
Szeremeta is 31 years old and owns a mark of 21-1 with just 5 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2012 and has boxed 151 rounds since. He stands just over 5-feet-9-inches tall and also has an unlisted reach so gives up almost three inches in height to Munguia. Szeremeta enjoyed a fine amateur career as well and made it to the final of the 2012 Polish National Championships after winning the Polish Boxing Federation Grand Prix three years earlier.
Up until meeting Golovkin, Szeremeta had displayed a solid chin but he was decked four times in that fight. Also, he obviously has a lack of power with a current knockout ratio of just 22.7 per cent. He’s also taking another huge step up in class as his most recognizable opponents before meeting Golovkin were the likes of Kassim Ouma, Edwin Palacios, Ruben Diaz and Patrick Mendy. Szeremeta won the vacant European Middleweight Title in February, 2018 when he stopped Alessandro Goddi in the second round. This will be just Szeremeta’s third fight in America and third in a row.
Prediction…
Things don’t look too promising for Szeremeta after being dropped four times against Gennady Golovkin the last time out and possessing very little power of his own. I’m sure he’ll give it his best shot but I’m expecting Munguia to eventually overwhelm him on the way to another victory.
