Jaime Munguia-Jimmy 'Kilrain' Kelly Set, June 11 At Honda Center In Anaheim
Jaime Munguia remains one of the most active boxers among current titlists and top contenders.
It has, however, slowed his progress in hoping to claim a second divisional title.
The unbeaten former WBO junior middleweight titleholder will enter his sixth fight above the 154-pound limit, which will come versus former title challenger Jimmy ‘Kilrain’ Kelly. The scheduled 12-round super middleweight bout, confirmed by Golden Boy Promotions on Wednesday, will take place June 11 on DAZN from Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Munguia appeared at the venue in a recent twelve-round win over Gabriel Rosado last November, his lone fight to go the distance since moving up to middleweight more than two years ago. The feat was followed up by a homecoming headliner in Tijuana, where the 25-year-old rising star scored a third-round knockout of unbeaten D’Mitrius Ballard this past February 19.
It was hoped after the fight that Munguia would proceed with a much-anticipated challenge of WBC middleweight titlist Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22KOs). A deal was on the table for the fight to take place June 18 in Charlo’s hometown of Houston, Texas, only for talks to break down at the eleventh hour.
Efforts to secure a sufficient alternative—including three contenders/former titlists—proved futile for the most part. Golden Boy ultimately settled on Lancashire, England’s Kelly for the sake of moving forward with the fight date.
"I am very excited to return to Anaheim and fight in front of all the fans against a high-quality English rival like Kelly," said Munguia. "It won't be an easy night, but we are preparing very hard. This new edition of Mexico vs. England will be very exciting for all fight fans, and I am convinced that I will pass this test and be on my way to a world title soon!"
Kelly (26-2, 10KOs) enters as a fringe contender but who enters on the heels of his biggest win to date. The 29-year-old Brit enjoyed his stateside debut in a big way, scoring an upset ten-round, majority decision over previously unbeaten Kanat Islam this past February 25 in Plant City, Florida.
The fight took place six days after Munguia’s win over Ballard, proving to be a significant development. Islam’s has been attached to a rumored fight with Munguia for more than a year, though he has since removed himself from the running.
Kelly gets to cash in on the win, his third in a row though spread out over a four-year stretch. His last defeat came in his first trip outside of England, dropping an April 2018 decision to Dennis Hogan in Australia. Hogan went on to challenge for Munguia’s WBO junior middleweight title in April 2019, dropping a disputed twelve-round decision in Monterrey, Mexico.
The other defeat for Kelly came in his lone title bid, suffering a seventh-round stoppage at the hands of then-unbeaten countryman Liam Smith in their December 2015 WBO junior middleweight title fight.
“As a child, I dreamt of fighting in America, that dream came true when I beat the undefeated Kanat Islam,” said Kelly. “Munguia is the number one guy at 160lbs. To be the best, you need to beat the top fighters in the world. June 11 can’t come quick enough. Munguia is in for the fight of his life.”
Munguia will now fight for the fourth time in a span of 51 weeks, dating back to his one-sided, sixth-round stoppage of former title challenger Kamil Szeremeta last June 19 in El Paso, Texas. He still remains in the top two with the WBC, WBA and WBO, despite his team turning down offers to fight in WBC- and WBO-sanctioned fights this year.
Munguia’s handlers never responded to an invitation to face Kazakhstan’s Janibek Alimkhanuly for the interim WBO middleweight, with Alimkhanuly now set to face England’s Danny Dignum for that very strap this weekend in Las Vegas. The offer followed previous opportunities for Munguia to face full WBO titlist Demetrius Andrade (31-0, 19KOs), with his mandatory challenger status never exercised.
The fallout with Charlo resulted in a one-spot demotion, with Dominican Republic’s Carlos Adames currently occupying the number-one slot. Munguia remains number-two with the WBA, a title held by Gennadiy Golovkin (42-1-1, 37KOs) along with the IBF belt for which Munguia is the number-eight contender.
