Middleweight contender Jaime Munguia will face British boxer Jimmy Kelly on June 11, Golden Boy Promotions announced Wednesday morning. The 12-round super middleweight bout will take place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California and will stream live on DAZN.

“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, who is co-promoted by Golden Boy and Zanfer Boxing Promotions.

“It won’t be an easy night, but we are preparing very hard. This new edition of Mexico versus 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.”

Munguia (39-0, 31 knockouts), who is currently ranked No. 4 by The Ring, is trained by former world champion Erik Morales. In his last bout on February 19, in front of a large crowd at the Plaza Monumental in his hometown of Tijuana, Mexico, Munguia stopped previously-unbeaten D’Mitrius Ballard in the third round. The victory over Ballard took place over three months after Munguia defeated Gabriel Rosado by unanimous decision.

Over two weeks later, WBC middleweight titleholder Jermall Charlo reportedly offered Munguia an opportunity to fight for the title. In a March 12 RingTV.com story, Munguia was quoted as saying “we are 80-90 percent (to finalizing the fight with Jermall Charlo).”

A few days later, talks between the two sides collapsed, reportedly over broadcasting rights. Golden Boy wanted DAZN involved in broadcasting the fight, which would have aired on a Showtime platform, in the United States. Premier Boxing Champions (PBC), which is aligned with Showtime and FOX, reportedly would not budge on the clause DAZN could only stream the fight throughout Mexico and the United Kingdom.

Charlo will defend his WBC middleweight title against Maciej Sulecki of Poland on June 18.

Kelly (26-2, 10 KOs) of Manchester, England should provide a decent test for Munguia and is coming off an impressive victory in his last bout on February 25, defeating unbeaten Kanat Islam by majority decision. Kelly has won his last three fights since losing to Dennis Hogan by unanimous decision in April 2018. 

The 29-year-old understands he is the underdog going into the Munguia fight but believes he can pull off the upset win on June 11.

“As a child, I dreamt of fighting in America,” said Kelly, who is managed by James Mulvi. “That dream came true when I beat the undefeated Kanat Islam.

“Munguia is the number one guy at 160 pounds. 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 night.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing  

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