- Munguia takes the WBA super middleweight title with scores of 119-109, 119-109, 118-110 over a game Resendiz at T-Mobile Arena
- Becomes a two-weight world champion and instantly the most marketable Mexican name at 168 outside of Canelo
- The Vegas weekend now belongs to Mexico — Benavidez stops Zurdo in the main, Munguia takes the WBA in the co-main
Right then — Cinco de Mayo Vegas was supposed to belong to David Benavidez and the cruiserweight night. The co-main, in the end, did just as much for the weekend. Jaime Munguia walked into T-Mobile Arena with a point to prove and walked out with the WBA super middleweight belt round his waist. Wide unanimous decision. Twelve rounds of pressure. Armando Resendiz never stopped trying — but he was in there with a fighter operating at a different level on the night.
Make no mistake — this was the Munguia performance the doubters said he couldn't deliver. After the Canelo Alvarez defeat, after the Christian Mbilli draw that split the room, the question was whether Munguia could still beat a top-five 168-pounder in a championship environment. He answered it tonight. He outboxed Resendiz when he wanted to, outworked him when he had to, and by the championship rounds he was hunting the stoppage that never quite came. Brilliant. Proper.
Where The Fight Was Won
Round one was a feel-out. Round two was where the body shot started landing. From round three onwards Resendiz was eating a left hook to the liver every time he tried to plant his feet, and once that shot starts compounding in a twelve-round fight there is only one way it ends. Munguia banked four of the first five rounds on every card I had next to me. He was up 50-45 going into the second half on two of the official cards.
Resendiz had his moments — there was a flurry in round seven that snapped Munguia's head back, and a left hand in round nine that landed flush on the temple. Class fighter, Resendiz. He's not 22-2 because he's a no-mark. But each time he got a flicker, Munguia answered with two minutes of pressure to close the round. That's the Munguia of old, the Munguia who used to bury Patrick Allotey at light middleweight, the Munguia who wears men down by output. He was that man tonight.
What 119-109 Actually Tells You
Two judges had it 119-109. Let's not beat around the bush — that's a shutout bar one round, and it's the right scorecard. Munguia outlanded Resendiz in every round but two on the punch stats I saw flash up on the screen. He landed at a higher percentage. He pressed every minute of every round and never once gave Resendiz a moment to dictate range. The only fault you could find with the night is that the stoppage never arrived. Resendiz has a brilliant chin and a Mexican fighter's pride. He was always going to be standing at the bell.
The third card at 118-110 is the one a couple of writers will fuss over. They shouldn't. Round seven and round nine were the two Resendiz could legitimately claim. Everything else belonged to Munguia. If you know, you know.
Two-Weight Champion — What That Opens Up
Munguia held the WBO at 154. Tonight he wins the WBA at 168. That makes him a two-weight world champion in genuine fights, not paper title shots. The route from here is interesting because he is now the second-biggest Mexican name at 168 behind Canelo — and Canelo's September date is locked in for a name we'll find out about next month. The PBC will want a unification, and the obvious one is Edgar Berlanga if Berlanga's team can stop being precious about the matchmaking.
The other route is a rematch with Christian Mbilli. The first fight was a draw nobody loved. Both men want it again. Both men should fight twice this year. With Munguia now holding the WBA strap and Mbilli back in the conversation at 168, the rematch carries title weight it didn't have first time round.
And The Canelo Question
I'll be straight with you — the Canelo conversation is back on the table whether Canelo's team like it or not. Munguia lost a clear decision in their first fight, but he was a much greener version of himself, and the Mbilli result and tonight's display say he's a different animal now. If Canelo wants the easiest pay-per-view of the year, he can ring Riyadh and ask for Munguia 2 in May 2027. The version of Munguia we saw tonight beats prime Caleb Plant nine times out of ten. He gives Canelo a real fight.
Will it happen? Not this year. Canelo's people have made it plain the September date is locked. But the back end of next year, after Wembley or wherever Canelo lands his summer assignment, Munguia is in the queue. He just bought himself a place in the queue.
What's Next For Resendiz
Resendiz drops to 22-3 and loses the WBA he'd held since taking it from Berlanga. He'll be sore tomorrow morning. Twelve rounds of body work will do that. But he's a class operator and the rebuild fight is there for him. He's 28, he's got a granite chin, and the WBA route at 168 is going to open up again the moment Munguia vacates or unifies. Don't write Resendiz off. Tonight was a class loss to a class fighter on his night.
The Verdict
Brilliant performance from Munguia. The best version of him we have seen since the Sergiy Derevyanchenko win. The Tijuana support filled half the arena and they got their reward — a Mexican two-weight world champion on Cinco de Mayo Vegas. Combine it with Benavidez walking out as a three-weight world champion in the main, and the weekend is now the strongest forty-eight hours of Mexican boxing in fifteen years. Make no mistake — Vegas is still the home of the big fight. And Mexico is still the home of the fighter.