Editorials

Jaime Munguia vs. Liam Smith I Fight Preview & Prediction

By Joshua Diaz

Posted on July 20, 2018

On Saturday, July 21, 2018, Golden Boy Promotions and HBO Boxing present a championship night of boxing at the Hard Rock Casino in Las Vegas.

In the main event, WBO Super Welterweight champion Jaime Munguia (29-0, 25 KOs) takes on former world titleholder, Liam Smith (26-1-1, 14 KOs).

The co-feature is Alberto Machado (19-0, 16 KOs) defending the Super Featherweight title against Rafael Mensah (31-0, 23 KOs).

Tale of the Tape

	Jaime Munguia	Liam Smith
Record	29-0, 25 KOs	26-1-1, 14 KOs
Age	21	29
Height	6'0'	5'9 1/2'
Reach	N/A	N/A
Weight	147	147
Stance	Orthodox	Orthodox
Hometown	Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico	Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom
Rounds Boxed	89	160

Jaime Munguia is clearly the larger fighter, as he towers over most of the Super Welterweights. Munguia has the advantages in both size and age.

Liam Smith is the more experienced fighter, with 160 rounds boxed and a handful of title defenses compared to Munguia’s 89 rounds boxed.

Main Story Lines

Hogan Photos

Jaime Munguia will be making his first title defense of the WBO Super Welterweight belt. Munguia splashed on the US scene with his TKO win over Sadam Ali to obtain the belt in May.

Munguia was relatively unknown as only two of his fights have been in the US and not having television exposure. Before facing Ali, Munguia’s name had been mentioned as a replacement opponent for Gennady Golovkin on May 5, but the NSAC ultimately wouldn’t approve of the bout.

Munguia looks to make a name for himself on HBO, and become a threat in one of boxing’s deepest divisions.

Liam Smith wants to become a world champion in the Super Welterweight division once again. Smith had the WBO Super Welterweight before losing it to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (49-1-2, 34 KOs).

Similar to Munguia, Smith isn’t a big name fighter. He primarily fights in the U.K. and his opponents have not been big names.

A win over Munguia on HBO would be the best outcome for Smith and could launch his career into the major fights in the division.

Strengths for Each Fighter

Jaime Munguia

Hogan Photos

Jaime Munguia’s strengths are his power punching and size.

Mungia has the power to stop his opponents with a single punch. Combined with his big and tall body this will be to his advantage on Saturday night.

Munguia should use his size to bully and hurt Liam Smith at will. The gameplan will involve Munguia fighting on the inside and outside with his reach.

Liam Smith

Craig Brough

Laim Smith’s strengths are his experience and ring generalship.

Smith is a former champion and knows what it’ll take to regain his lost belt. Smith has more rounds boxed in the same amount of fights as Munguia.

Ring generalship is a strength and will be the key to Smith’s survival in this bout. He knows he will need to box, move and set up Munguia for his own shots.

Weaknesses for Each Fighter

Jaime Munguia

Hogan Photos

Jaime Mungia’s lack of experience, and power are his weakness. With 25 wins coming by way of KO, Munguia has had plenty of quick fights.

This may be a problem if Smith can take Munguia into the late rounds. Along with this being his second fight on HBO, we will see if the pressure affects Munguia.

Munguia’s power, yes his power, is also a weakness. He may rely solely on the KO power he has by only looking for the big shot to stop Smith.

Liam Smith

Porfirio Barron Jr./RBRBoxing

Liam Smith lacks power, which is a big problem in this fight. Without the ability to stop Munguia from pressuring him, Smith is going to be in trouble.

Smith will need to constantly be on the move, something he doesn’t do fairly well, without the necessary power to hurt the larger Munguia.