Jaime Munguia’s promoters in Zanfer plan to activate a rematch clause to force a second fight against Bruno Surace in the first half of 2025 following Jaime’s sixth-round knockout loss last Saturday night at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico.
The immediate rematch with Surace is not without risks. While it may seem like a smart thing for Munguia’s promoters to do, it could backfire when he gets knocked out again. It would ruin his career.
An unconventional clause
It is unclear why Munguia’s promoters put a rematch clause in the contract for a non-title fight that he was expected to win easily. The 26-year-old Surace is not ranked in the top 15 by any of the four sanctioning bodies. For a rematch clause to be included in this fight, it suggests that Jaime’s promoters weren’t entirely confident that he would win. He was the A-side; they didn’t risk it.
Former WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia (44-2, 35 KOs) entered the fight as the favorite and controlled the action through the fifth round. In the sixth, Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) dropped Munguia, 28, with a right hand. The referee had no choice but to stop the fight when Munguia got back to his feet as he was in terrible shape.
“I have been told that Zanfer intends to activate the rematch clause for Jaime Mungui vs Bruno Surace 2 in the first half of 2025 after Saturday’s surprise result in Tijuana. There will be details regarding that in the next few days,” said Salvador Rodriguez Ks.
Rematch risks
Again, if Munguia gets knocked out again, his promoters’ decision to rematch Surace could be disastrous. They have to recognize the possibility of another loss and what it would do to his already shaky career.
Munguia is popular enough in Mexico, Southern California, Arizona and Texas to handle another knockout loss to Surace. However, his hit resistance may deteriorate if Surace stops him again.
Assuming Munguia gets knocked out again by Surface, he can still count on fights against Caleb Plant, Edgar Berlanga, Diego Pacheco and Cristian Mbili. In other words, Munguia could be a gatekeeper or trial horse for younger fighters to gain experience against a faded former world champion.
