Alan Dawson Uncrowned Sat, October 31, 2026 at 10:08 PM UTC · 4 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jaime Munguia survived a mid-fight gut-check to beat Nikita Zon and retain his WBA super middleweight title in a sloppy but entertaining bout Saturday on the Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Christian Mbilli undercard at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
With a world title on the line and famed trainer Eddy Reynoso in Munguia's corner, one would be forgiven for expecting technical prowess. But this one was as weird and feral as it was captivating, featuring numerous rounds of unrestrained brawling.
For Munguia (47-2, 35 KOs), it was his third fight under Reynoso's watch, with the timing of each camp having the added benefit of Munguia being able to train alongside Alvarez — the fighter he lost to in 2024
But Munguia is far from a typical Reynoso fighter. He remains heavy-handed, rugged and defensively vulnerable. And he was exposed as such Saturday by an unorthodox Russian who came into the fight with one intention: frustrate Munguia by roughing him up and making things ugly.
In the opening round, Zon (12-1-1, 10 KOs) hit Munguia with two late punches after a break. The Mexican responded with a clattering left hook of his own, but it was not enough to deter the southpaw from his strategy, as Zon pushed Munguia back with a glove to the face and held his head down for good measure in the second.
Munguia was often off-balance, eating punches and forced into the corners of the ring, where Zon would attack him with all kinds of unconventional shots with increasingly odd leverage.
Munguia, however, did produce moments of his own, particularly when he hammered left hooks into Zon's unprotected ribs.
Munguia even wobbled Zon with a straight shot in the third round. He capitalized on Zon's awkward posture, with the Russian keeping his right hand low to shoot jabs from his waist, leaving himself vulnerable to snappy shots up top — something Munguia was all too happy to exploit.
By the fifth, Munguia kept making Zon pay for the defensive holes in his guard, ramming a massive shot into Zon's exposed chin that threatened to send him to the canvas. With Zon still dazed, Munguia landed a three-punch combination on the Russian's face at the bell.
Then came the sixth round — the round of the night. Munguia and Zon exchanged power punches in frenetic fashion, with Zon hurting the champ with a counter left uppercut, before a right hook threatened to put the Mexican on the floor. Against the odds, Zon had suddenly found his moment — and perhaps even the fight.
Referee Tony Weeks even appeared ready to intervene at one stage, such was the danger Munguia found himself in.
But rather than picking his punches and exploiting the openings, Zon threw indiscriminately, smothering his own work and allowing Munguia to survive.
Considering Zon had never boxed beyond the eighth round in his career, there were questions about how well he could conserve his energy. And after his near moment, it was perhaps only a matter of time before Zon snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Munguia hardly helped his wearied challenger recover — he continued to hammer hooks into Zon's ribs, accelerating the Russian's physical decline. Zon began slowing considerably, not just with his hands but his footwork too, struggling to get out of the way of Munguia's punches.
Even Munguia's jab became somewhat of a power punch in the bout's closing rounds, considering the ease with which he could throw and land with it, with Zon's defensive game gone by the 10th.
When the fight had finally finished, the judges awarded Munguia with a unanimous decision win with scores of 116-112 and 117-111 twice.
"It was a little complicated, but I pulled it off," Munguia said post-fight.
"He caught me, then I caught him, and I got careless and he caught me again," Munguia added of the sixth round. "It's part of learning and my growth. I give myself a six or seven out of 10. Some things failed. Some I did not do.
"I'm happy with my win and I will keep on working."
For more on Canelo vs. Mbilli, including live results, play-by-play and highlights of Saturday's entire main card, check out Uncrowned's fight night hub.
Source: Sports
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