Trainer Jose Benavides Sr. is advising Jaime Mungia not to have a rematch with Bruno Surace after he knocked him out in the sixth round last Saturday night in Tijuana, Mexico, December 14th.
Jose Sr. says Surache (26-0-2, 5 KOs) will be “super motivated” after his win, and could cause another “shock” in a rematch with former WBO junior middleweight champion Munguia (44- 2, 35 KOs). Benavidez Sr. wants Munguia to move on from the loss, live his life and not fight again.
Avoiding a rematch
Jose Sr. believes Munguia should have finished Surace after dropping him in the second round. He thinks he let him off the street because he wanted to please the fans. It didn’t seem that way. Munguia appeared to try to knock him out, but changed his mind after Surace, 26, nailed him with a massive right hand to the head.
That punch forced Mungiu to back down because it was as hard as the one that knocked him out in the sixth.
According to ESPN Knockout’s Salvador Rodriguez, Munguia’s promoters in Zanfer want to activate a rematch clause in his contract with Surace to force a second fight in the first half of 2025.
“I think he was taking his time, trying to find the perfect shot.” I think it should have been Jaime,” Jose Benavides Sr. said Fight Hub TV when asked why Jaime Munguia suffered an upset knockout loss to Bruno Surace last Saturday night.
“I think he (Munguia) was trying to please people, his fans, and that’s what happened.” I think he hit the gas a little bit more, I think he would have stopped it when he dropped it (in the second round). He probably thought, “This guy is too easy. I’m going to put on a show for my fans and then I can take it out.’
“That’s a big mistake he made.” I think she should have stopped him, and she should have gone with everything and taken things seriously. It’s a little difficult. I would let it go. I wouldn’t take a rematch. I would move on with my life and not accept that fight,” Jose Sr. said when asked if Munguia should go for the rematch with Surace.
It would be interesting to know if Jose Sr. would have the same attitude about the failure in the rematch if his son David Benavidez was kicked out by Surache. Would you advise David not to activate the rematch clause if Surace had him in the sixth round last Saturday night?
“He’s got that guy on his mind now.” That guy is super motivated and has shown the world what he can do. You can imagine how motivated he is right now. In fact, he (Surace) is a pretty good fighter. “He calculated really well and I think we could have another injury,” Jose Sr. said.
