- The WBA has ordered super middleweight champion Jaime Munguia to face mandatory challenger Bektemir Melikuziev, with an October 21 deadline to agree terms
- The ruling came after the WBA decided Munguia's 120-day voluntary defence window had expired on August 30
- Melikuziev, a 2016 Olympic silver medallist, had publicly accused the WBA of ignoring its own rules amid talk of a softer voluntary for Munguia on October 31
The WBA Has Finally Enforced Its Own Rules
Right then. For months Bektemir Melikuziev has been saying the same thing to anyone who would listen: he is the mandatory, the champion is supposed to fight the mandatory, so why isn't it happening? This week the WBA finally agreed with him.
The sanctioning body has ordered Jaime Munguia to defend his super middleweight title against Melikuziev, giving both teams until October 21 to reach an agreement. The committee ruled that Munguia's 120-day voluntary defence period ran out on August 30. After that date, there is no more wriggle room.
Make no mistake, this one had been getting uncomfortable. There were strong rumours that Munguia was lining up a much softer voluntary on the October 31 show in Saudi Arabia headlined by Canelo Alvarez against Christian Mbilli. Melikuziev went public, accused the WBA of not following its own rules, and it seems somebody was listening.
Who Is Bektemir Melikuziev?
If you only watch the big pay-per-views, you might not know the name. You should. Melikuziev is an Uzbek southpaw, a 2016 Olympic silver medallist, and he is 17-1 with 11 knockouts. He earned his mandatory position with a hard-fought points win back in May 2025, and he has only boxed once in the 16 months since — a seventh-round stoppage in February. That inactivity is not his choice. It is what happens when you are the fighter nobody wants.
He has one loss, and it was a bad one: flattened by a single counter right hand in 2021 when he rushed in carelessly. That is the blueprint on him. He comes forward, he wants to hurt you, and if you time him on the way in, he can go.
Why Jaime Munguia Should Be Worried
Let's not beat around the bush. Jaime Munguia is 46-2 with 35 knockouts and has been one of the busiest, most exciting fighters of his generation. He is also a fighter with obvious defensive holes, and those holes have been exposed twice.
Canelo dropped him with a short uppercut and cruised to a wide decision in May 2024. Then, at the end of that same year, an underdog with barely any knockouts on his record landed one overhand right in Tijuana and flattened Munguia in the sixth round. He avenged that on points a few months later, but the lesson stood: when Munguia charges in, his guard opens up and he can be hit clean.
The Southpaw Problem
Now put that in front of a southpaw who lives on the straight left hand and loves digging hooks into the body. When Munguia drops his lead shoulder and flares his elbows to throw those looping shots, the path down the middle is wide open. Melikuziev will be waiting for exactly that. And the body shots will matter, because Munguia's whole game depends on output, and output dies when your ribs are sore.
Munguia's route is obvious on paper: use his height and reach, jab, and refuse to get drawn into a war. But I have watched Jaime Munguia for a decade, and his first instinct when he gets hit is always to fire back with everything. That instinct won him a lot of fights. Against Melikuziev, it could lose him the belt.
Will It Actually Happen?
I have my doubts. Both men are promoted in the same wider business orbit, and the most likely move is a step-aside payment to Melikuziev with a promise of a shot later. Munguia could also drop the belt, but giving up a title without a single defence after winning it in May would look terrible, and it would confirm every complaint about how carefully he has been matched.
The Verdict
If they get in the ring, I am going with Bektemir Melikuziev by stoppage inside ten rounds. I think he hurts Munguia to the body early, Munguia starts brawling to prove a point, and the straight left finds the chin late. Munguia has the heart to make it a proper fight and he will land plenty — Melikuziev's chin is not bulletproof either — but the Uzbek is the sharper, heavier puncher with the style built to exploit Munguia's flaws.
My honest bet, though, is that this fight never happens in 2026. And that says everything about why Melikuziev has been shouting.