The Road to Munguia vs Allotey and Garcia vs Sparrow

The month of September hosts the second biggest boxing weekend and the celebration of Mexican Independence.  These days, that weekend is reserved for boxing’s biggest star, which is Canelo Alvarez but due to opponent and date conflicts, this weekend will be filled with some fresh faces looking to one day claim the weekend their own.

Let’s start with the main event, which features the undefeated WBO Super Welterweight Champion Jaime Munguia (33-0) going up against Patrick Allotey (40-3).

The champion Munguia is having a pretty busy 2019 as this will be his third fight this year. In January, Munguia fought the tough Takeshi Inoue, which resulted in a unanimous decision victory. Munguia looked sluggish and he was allowing Inoue to land a little too much offense which led to some people to think that maybe the weight drain was becoming too much of a task.

The champ Munguia then went home to Mexico and fought a very game Dennis Hogan, who gave him all that he can handle. Prior to the fight, Munguia was unsure how much longer he could come down to 154 pounds and expressed his intentions of moving up sooner than later.  The fight was close, some had Hogan getting the decision but in the end, the judges saw Munguia the winner.

After this fight, there was an opportunity to fight Jesse Vargas but with the fight requiring a catch weight of 156 pounds, a deal could not be struck which led to this fight with Patrick Allotey.

Jaime Munguia has brought the legendary Erik Morales to be in his corner and help him refine his game. One thing to look for will be if they worked on the champ’s defense and footwork, which has been a concern in the past. Will we see a brand new Jamie Munguia on Saturday night or will it only last a few rounds before he goes back to what he knows?  The weigh-in will be the first battle he will have to deal with prior to Saturday night so make sure to tune in to that.

Patrick Allotey is virtually an unknown as he is only fighting in the U.S for the second time in his career.  Born and raised in Ghana, Allotey has a good amount of fights under his belt and will bring that experience with him to Carson, CA.

One thing that stands out from his last fight against Shaerif Kasongo is that he tends to throw his punches wide and keeps his hands a little low. One thing I did see is that he didn’t mind his opponent pressuring him and tried to use that against Kasongo by throwing quick combinations down the middle.

This may give Munguia some trouble if he doesn’t exercise some movement and good defense.

Can Patrick Allotey pull the upset victory? Only a few days remaining before we find out.

**Ryan Garcia vs. Avery Sparrow**

Ryan “KingRy” Garcia (18-0) will be the Co-Main Event and his dancing partner will be Philly’s own Avery Sparrow (10-1).

For Garcia, this will be the third fight until the watchful eye of Eddy Reynoso who was brought in to bring Ryan up to the next level. This should be the real test to see if he has developed as a fighter and is ready to take on those top ten opponents.

Ryan Garcia’s game revolves around the left jab, which is followed up by quick combinations from an appropriate distance. The issue most have had with his game is that they say he leaves his “chin up to high” which could be problematic if with the wrong opponent.  Avery Sparrow is the right opponent for Garcia at this stage of his career but will he regret signing on the dotted line to face this Philly fighter? Will this be the fight that re-ignites the conversations of Garcia being the next mega star in boxing?

Avery Sparrow is coming off of a majority decision victory over Henry Lundy back in March. Sparrow is an interesting guy whose only loss came in the form of a DQ back in 2015 against Jerome Rodriguez. Leading up to the fight, Avery was pretty intense in the face to face with Garcia and had a chip on his shoulder.

Sparrow likes to work off of the jab as well and he also likes to keep low which can possibly setup for a looping overhand punch this weekend.  Can Avery Sparrow take Ryan Garcia into deep waters and push him to limits he has not seen as of yet?

There is plenty of boxing on this weekend with a buffet like menu but something tells me that on Saturday Night at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, CA, it’s going to be more like Sizzlers than a Golden Corral.

I will be there live at ringside this Saturday so make sure you follow me on twitter @abeg718 & follow @nyfights on Instagram.