Munguia activates the rematch clause after Surace’s upset

Jaime Munguia’s promoters in Zanfer plan to activate the rematch clause to force a second fight against Bruno Surace in the first half of 2025 following super-middleweight challenger Jaime’s sixth-round knockout loss last Saturday night at Estadio Caliente in Tijuana, Mexico.

Taking an immediate resumption with Surace is not without its risks. While it may seem like a smart move for Munguia’s promoters, it could backfire on him getting knocked out again. This would ruin his career.

Non-conventional clause

It is unclear why Munguia’s promoters placed 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 for this fight suggests that Jaime’s promoters weren’t entirely sure 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 until the fifth round. In the sixth, Surace (26-0-2, 5 KOs) dropped the 28-year-old Munguia 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 of Jaime Munguía against Bruno Surace 2 in the first half of 2025 after Saturday’s surprising result in Tijuana. There will be details in this regard in the coming days,” said Salvador Rodríguez X.

Resumption risks

Then again, if Munguia gets knocked out again, his promoters’ decision to take a rematch with Surace could be disastrous. They have to acknowledge the possibility of another loss and what it would do to their already shaky career.

Munguia is popular enough in Mexico, Southern California, Arizona and Texas to manage another KO loss to Surace. However, his punch resistance can 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 Christian Mbilli. In other words, Munguia can be a gatekeeper or a trial horse for younger fighters to gain experience against a faded former world champion.