Resendiz vs Munguia Fight Day: WBA 168 Title on the Cinco de Mayo Co-Main

• Armando Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) defends his WBA super middleweight title against Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) in the Benavidez–Ramirez co-main at T-Mobile Arena
• Both men made weight cleanly yesterday and the faceoff was respectful — no needle, just two Mexican fighters who know exactly what is on the line
• Munguia's last loss was to Bruno Surace; Resendiz earned the title with a stunning win and arrives as the underdog despite holding the belt

Right Then — A Real Co-Main

Right then, let's not beat around the bush about this one. The chief support to Benavidez–Ramirez tonight is, on its own, a proper world title fight that would headline the majority of cards in the calendar. Armando Resendiz defends his WBA super middleweight title against Jaime Munguia in the co-main at T-Mobile Arena, and if you tune in late tonight you've got nobody to blame for missing it. This is Mexico against Mexico inside the same weight class, on the Cinco de Mayo show, with one belt on the line and a heap of national pride either side of it. Make no mistake, neither man is taking a single round off. That's not how this rivalry is built and it's not how either fighter operates.

Resendiz: The Champion Nobody Wanted

Armando Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) is one of those champions who didn't get fed his way to the belt — he had to take it. The Toro is awkward, switches stances, fights tall, fights short, and has a knack for finding the shot you didn't see coming. He earned the WBA strap with a result that genuinely shocked the division and he has been quietly defending it ever since. What you have to respect about Resendiz is that he doesn't duck. He could have taken a soft mandatory and a payday. Instead he's defended against live opposition, kept his profile, and now lined up Munguia — a man bigger in name than him — on a Cinco de Mayo PPV. That's a champion who fancies himself, and on the form he's shown the last twelve months he's right to.

Munguia: The Body Puncher Wants Another World Title

Jaime Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) is a former WBO 154-pound champion who has rebuilt at super middleweight after the Canelo loss and the upset Surace defeat. He's a heavy-handed body puncher who walks people down — the kind of fighter Mexican fans have always loved because he turns up, throws punches, and lets the dust sort itself out. The questions on Munguia were always about the chin and the discipline behind the jab. Both have been answered to a point in the last eighteen months. He's tightened up. He sets up the body work better. And the work-rate, which has always been there, is now wedded to a slightly more measured tempo. He's a different fighter to the one Surace caught and a much improved version of the one Canelo schooled.

What Wins It

This one comes down to who controls the tempo in the middle rounds. Munguia at his best is a freight train. Resendiz at his best is a counter-puncher who lures men onto shots and then holds the angle. If Resendiz lands the first proper counter inside the first three rounds — a check hook, a long uppercut as Munguia ducks in — Munguia's confidence drops and the champion wins rounds in fours. If Munguia gets the body work going early and Resendiz can't keep him off, the body shots accumulate and Munguia takes over after round six. The faceoff yesterday was respectful, no needle, no theatre — just two men who've been around the block and know what's coming. Both made weight on the nail. There's nothing else to talk about now beyond the bell.

The Prediction

I'm going Resendiz on points. Close, twelve hard rounds, one or two tense moments where Munguia hurts him and the place goes up — but the awkwardness, the variety, the angles all win Resendiz the rounds he needs. Something like 115-113. Munguia leaves with no shame, gets his rematch clause considered, and we get a proper Cinco de Mayo co-main that lives up to the billing. Class fight, levels of pride, set the time.