Jaime Munguia may give up his WBA super middleweight title rather than defend it against Bektemir Melikuziev. Rick Glaser says Munguia’s team is considering that option. If his information is right, the decision would fit a career that has generally been managed with care. I expected Munguia’s team to have little appetite for Bek once the mandatory fight was ordered.
Glaser says Munguia’s camp is taking a “deep dive into the idea of giving up the title.” He has not said Munguia has vacated. The WBA has given the two sides until October 21 to make a deal and may call a purse bid if they fail to agree.
The Golden Boy connection makes this especially revealing. Melikuziev has fought under its banner since turning professional, and the company knows what its own fighter would bring against Munguia. Bek is a powerful southpaw with a damaging body attack. Munguia’s willingness to take punches while pressing forward would give him chances to land, but it would also give Bek chances to hurt him.
Munguia (46-2, 35 KOs) accepted the Canelo Alvarez fight for a huge payday and lost. Bruno Surace then knocked him out in a matchup Munguia was favored to win. Sergiy Derevyanchenko gave Munguia a hard fight, so his record is not free of risk. Melikuziev presents a different calculation: considerable danger with nowhere near Canelo’s commercial reward.
The WBA belt helped Munguia regain world champion status when he beat José Armando Reséndiz in May. Defending it is another matter. A purse bid could also take the choice of date, venue, and broadcaster out of his team’s hands. Vacating would leave Munguia free to pursue a bigger name at 168, though that freedom would come at Bek’s expense.
Melikuziev (17-1, 11 KOs) beat Darius Fulghum in a WBA eliminator in May 2025, then watched Munguia get the fight with Reséndiz. Bek told The Ring he had been assured he would get the next shot. If Munguia vacates, Bek may still get a chance to win the belt. He would lose the chance to win it from Munguia, a victory that would mean far more for his career.
We’re seeing the new age of belt-holders. Champions giving up their belts exposes the entire modern hustle around world titles. Fighters treat sanctioning body belts like disposable leverage tools rather than something to defend against legitimate threats. They want the belt purely to slap “world champion” on a poster, collect the promotional bump, and leverage it into an in-house payday.
The second a dangerous, low-profile puncher gets ordered as a mandatory, they drop the trinket in the trash and run. Look at the pattern playing out right now. Hamzah Sheeraz walked away from his belt rather than get in the ring with Janibek Alimkhanuly. Teofimo Lopez is on the verge of playing the same game,
Now Jaime Munguia’s camp looks ready to dump the WBA strap because Bektemir Melikuziev offers pure risk with zero casual crossover appeal. Bektemir is a nightmare matchup for a flawed fighter like Munguia. Bek is a heavy-handed, compact southpaw who specializes in cracking the ribs and punishing guys who march forward without defense.
Against Bektemir, Munguia risks getting stopped on regular DAZN for modest money, completely torpedoing his marketability for another mega-fight. Dumping the title completely strips away the pretense of championship prestige. Decades ago, winning a belt meant you took on whoever climbed the ladder, regardless of style or reward. What we’re seeing now is champions treating mandatory defenses like bad business propositions.
If Munguia vacates, Bektemir Melikuziev should get the first chance at the vacant WBA title, but the WBA would still have to choose his opponent. Its current rankings put Canelo Alvarez at No. 2 and José Armando Reséndiz at No. 3. A Canelo fight would be the biggest prize for Bek, though there is no indication Canelo wants it.
Reséndiz looks like the more realistic choice: he lost the belt to Munguia in May and would have a chance to win it back. That would give Bek a title opportunity, but it would deny him the higher-profile victory over Munguia that he has spent more than a year pursuing.
Read the full article here