By: Hans Themistode
Although Jaime Munguia has long been number one in the WBC rankings in the middleweight division, the 25-year-old has chosen to take her time.
After taking the title at 154 pounds, Munguia has gradually raised its competitive edge. This past weekend, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, Munguia hosted the candidate of the year matchup against Gabriel Rosado. Despite the relentless action, it was Munguia who emerged with a decisive unanimous victory.
Now, no more than a week later, the highly ranked candidate is on the verge of discovering who his next nemesis will be.
Following the decision of the WBC sanctioning body at their recent congress, Munguia will be ordered to face the winner of the upcoming showdown between Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Carlos Adames. The two are scheduled to end on December 5, in Los Angeles California, as main backers for Gervonta Davis and Isaac Cruz.
Initially, the sanctioning body ordered the final removal between Derevyanchenko and Munguia. However, with the pair already entangled in a separate set of matches, both Munguia and Derevyanchenko believe it is in their best interest to wait.
With Munguia closing the deal, the ball now lands on Derevyanchenko’s field. Although the 36-year-old has flirted with his intention to lose weight, the Ukrainian-born is on the hunt to prove that a fourth world title win will be his crowning achievement.
After a close loss to Daniel Jacobs in October 2018 to claim the vacant middleweight IBF crown, Derevyanchenko returned with a decisive victory over Jack Culcay.
While Derevyanchenko was successful in getting back to the title photo, he was kicked back several times in a row. In October 2019, Derevyanchenko suffered a close but clear loss to Gennadiy Golovkin. About a year later, the Brooklyn, New York resident once again watched his world title dream come to an end. This time, at the hands of current belt holder, Jermall Charlo.
Despite his shortcomings, Derevyanchenko could be on his way to competing for the world title once again. Provided, of course, that he runs the business against both Adames and Munguia.
“The WBC ordered the final elimination between Jaime Munguia and Sergiy Derevyanchenko,” said Sulaiman. “Munguia had a commitment that he won. Sergiy also has a fight on December 5th. We will be modifying the order so that Munguia faces the winner of that fight. ”
