In case you’re just joining us, something weird is happening at super middleweight.
Late last month, the WBA ordered newly crowned champion Jaime Munguia (46-2, 35 KO) to face mandatory challenger Bektemir “Bek the Bully” Melikuziev (17-1, 11 KO), who’s been owed a title shot since edging out Darius Fulghum in an eliminator in May of last year. Munguia, seeking a spot on the Canelo vs Mbilli undercard against a more manageable opponent, sought to pay Melikuziev some step-aside money, which Melikuziev publicly
rejected.
This made it strange when Munguia appeared on yesterday’s undercard announcement opposite amateur standout turned unremarkable pro Nikita Zon (12-0-1, 10 KO). The poster bizarrely listed Munguia vs Zon as a “WBA Super Middleweight Fight” in contrast to Rafael Espinoza vs Lorenzo Parra and Lindolfo Delgado vs Arthur Biyarslanov, which it clearly labeled as title bouts.
We might now know why, as the WBA announced on social media that they “ha[ve] not approved” the fight and “will review the situation.”
The only real remedy here is to strip Munguia. If they give him a slap on the wrist and let the fight go through with the stipulation that Munguia has to fight Melikuziev within X number of days, it’s punishing Melikuziev for not taking the payoff. Same with doing their usual title shuffle and making Munguia “champion in recess” or something.
The WBA are the most cartoonishly amoral of the sanctioning bodies, but they’ve retreated in the face of concentrated backlash before, and what little bits of optimism dot my blackened soul think they might actually recognize accommodating Munguia’s shenanigans as a step too far. We can hope, at least.
