Jose Armando Resendiz defends his WBA super middleweight title against Jaime Munguia at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 2, during Cinco de Mayo weekend. The all-Mexican showdown serves as the co-feature to Benavidez vs. Zurdo on the PBC PPV card, which airs live on Prime Video.
Resendiz (16-2, 11 KOs) makes the first defense of the belt after being elevated to full champion following Terence Crawford’s retirement, leaving the title vacant. The 27-year-old native of Rincón de Guayabitos, Nayarit, initially won the interim title by split decision against Caleb Plant last May.
Resendiz is opposed by Tijuana’s former super welterweight champion Munguia (45-2, 35 KOs). The 29-year-old returns after taking revenge on Bruno Surace last May, making his latest attempt to become a two-division world champion. Munguia challenged Canelo Alvarez for the undisputed 168-pound title in May 2024 but fell short, dropping a unanimous decision.
“I have to stay focused until the final bell and give my absolute best,” Resendiz said from his training camp in California with trainer Manny Robles. “Munguia says his experience will be the difference, but Plant was more experienced than me too. He had faced bigger names, but I’m a fighter who keeps getting better and better – there are no limits. That’s what I want to show people on May 2.”
“I’ve studied him [Munguia] quite a bit. I’ve been watching him since I was starting my climb as a professional. He’s a gritty Mexican boxer with a wealth of experience.”
‘The responsibilities have grown a bit more since winning the title’
“Being in this position is a huge motivation and a great responsibility. I’m eager to prove that I’m built for great things and I believe that’s exactly what we’ll do.”
“The responsibilities have grown a bit more since winning the title. I have to be even more focused in the gym. I’ve had excellent sparring sessions with great boxers, including Terrell Gausha.”
“I enjoyed every stage, every moment, every training session, and every pre-fight interview in the run-up to the Plant fight. I was focused on doing everything with my full enthusiasm, and that ultimately showed in the final product.”
“Overcoming adversity defines me as a warrior, a fighter who doesn’t give up so easily. Faith has been something that’s kept me standing and moving forward, believing that good things will come.”
“I tend to stay focused in the present, but I like to watch my past fights and see how I’ve progressed over the years. I watch my fights and say, ‘I know what I was thinking at that moment, but maybe it wasn’t the right thing.’ It inspires me to keep improving and learning new things.”
Headlining the event, Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (48-1, 30 KOs) of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, defends his unified WBA and WBO cruiserweight titles against former sparring partner and fellow two-division world champion David Benavidez (31-0, 25 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona.
On the Ramirez vs. Zurdo undercard, Oscar Duarte (30-2-1, 23 KOs) meets Angel Fierro (23-4-2, 18 KOs) in an all-Mexican battle at super lightweight.
Mexican-born, Las Vegas-based Isaac Lucero (18-0, 14 KOs) faces Argentinian-born, Spain-based Ismael Flores (17-1-1, 12 KOs) in an eight-round super welterweight bout.
Mexican-born, San Diego-based Jorge Chavez (15-0-1, 8 KOs) takes on Jose “Tito” Sanchez (15-0, 9 KOs) of Rancho Mirage, CA, in a super bantamweight bout.