Resendiz vs Munguia Predictions: Munguia gets another title crack

WBA super middleweight champion Jose Armando Resendiz defends his belt for the first time this Saturday, May 2 as he takes on controversial challenger Jaime Munguia. The bout takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as chief support for Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez’s unified cruiserweight title defence against David Benavidez. Amazon Prime PPV will broadcast the event live.

Read on for my Resendiz vs Munguia predictions.

Resendiz vs Munguia Odds

Resendiz is on the market at 2/1 as we go to press while Munguia is the 4/9 favourite. The draw is marketed at 14/1.

Resendiz vs Munguia Fight Preview

This fight has raised eyebrows due to Munguia’s anti-doping violation stemming from his rematch decision win over Bruno Surace in Saudi Arabia last year. 

After his B sample also came back positive, the Mexican swore that the increased metabolites of testosterone found in his system were accidentally ingested through the use of pregnenolone, a non-banned substance found in many over-the-counter supplements. 

The WBC’s investigation concluded that they “could not determine with reasonable certainty the ultimate causal source of the Adverse Finding.” Their report acknowledges that “there are scientific papers, some of which Mr. Munguía provided to the WBC, that can be interpreted as supporting his position. However, there are also scientific publications that suggest that ingestion of pregnenolone is not considered a valid justification for Mr. Munguia’s Adverse Finding.”

The lack of conclusion was taken as Munguia being ‘cleared’ by many outlets. But the only recorded outcome was a distinct lack of outcome. The WBC certainly hedged their bets, placing Munguia on a 12-month probationary period. If Munguia had been outright proven as innocent, as outlets portrayed, the WBC would not have imposed sanctions on the boxer.

A betting preview is not the place to litigate guilt, which is why I have kept this presentation of the WBC’s findings as balanced and evidentiary as possible. You will have your own mileage for the idea of Munguia bouncing straight from these proceedings into a world title fight.

Putting aside the anti-doping controversy, something boxing sadly forces us to do with increasing frequency, this is a solid fight. Resendiz rocketed to the top of the 168lb division when he shocked unseated Caleb Plant for the WBA interim super middleweight crown last May.

It was a fine display from the underdog, who had Plant on the verge of a KO loss a chaotic sixth stanza. With 16 seconds left until the end of the round, a vicious short right had Plant holding on for dear life. If that shot had arrived even 30 seconds earlier, one could imagine the fight ending in that very round. Many unfavoured fighters would have wilted having seen the door to immortality close. But Resendiz went after his man and Plant could only back off and was fortunate that even one judge thought he won the fight. No one else did. Resendiz was a worthy winner.

Whether he is a worthy world champion remains to be seen, of course. This is his first fight for a full world belt, despite being the defending champion. The Mexican saw his interim status upgraded when undisputed super middleweight kingpin Terence Crawford retired. 

Munguia knows his way around a world title fight. The 29-year-old reigned as WBO super welterweight titlist between 2018 and 2019. Munguia racked up five title defences before vacating the title to move up to middleweight.

Contrary to expectations when he relinquished his former crown, Munguia has not won world honours since. Canelo Alvarez dropped and decisioned him for the undisputed super middleweight crown two years ago. Since then, Munguia has stopped unbeaten-but-untested Erik Bazinyan in 10 rounds and gone 1-1 against European-level Frenchman Surace.

It is not the red-hot form of a title challenger. But Munguia is a reasonable name and a marketable talent. An all-Mexican world title fight is an easy sell and Munguia facing another man noted for upset victories adds a layer of intrigue. This is a decent B-level world title fight, if you can bury your feelings about last year’s investigation. A moral choice boxing presents far too often, sadly.

Resendiz vs Munguia Full Card

Gilberto Ramirez vs David Benavidez

Jose Armando Resendiz vs Jaime Munguia

Oscar Duarte Jurado vs Angel Daniel Fierro Barrera

Isaac Lucero vs Ismael Flores

Jorge Chavez vs Jose Tito Sanchez

Daniel Blancas vs Raul Isaias Salomon Pantoja

Petr Khamukov vs Bernard Joseph

Juan Carrillo vs Marlo Delgado

Julio Ocampo Hernandez vs Carlos Lewis

Javier Meza vs Damonte Smith

Jordan Palacios vs Sean Waugh

Dylan Capetillo vs Martin Caraballo

Resendiz vs Munguia Prediction

Resendiz was nowhere until he met Plant. Stopped by gatekeeper Elijah Garcia and previously outpointed by journeyman Marcos Hernandez, there is a sense that Resendiz simply put it all together on one wondrous night. Another name for the pantheon alongside ‘Buster’ Douglas, Hasim Rahman and George Kambosos Jr. Or Bruno Surace, if you prefer…

Munguia is too good for this guy. If he can banish the brain fog that saw Bruno beat him the first time, I think he can get this guy out of there. I fancy a Munguia stoppage at 11/4.

You can find all our latest boxing betting tips and analysis at our Betfred Insights Boxing page and our latest boxing odds here.