Jaime Munguia vs Nikita Zon Preview October 31st, 2026
WBA Super Middleweight Champion Jaime Munguia of Mexico is defending his belt for the first time this Saturday, October 31st. He’s set to take on unbeaten Nikita Zon of Russia over 12 rounds in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with the fight being shown in most nations on DAZN pay-per-view. Munguia won the title when he beat fellow countryman Jose Armando Resendiz by unanimous decision in May. Munguia’s previous outing came a year earlier when he beat Bruno Surace of France via a unanimous decision in a rematch. Munguia and the light-hitting Surace first met in December, 2024 in Mexico. Munguia dropped Surace in the second round and was well ahead on points when Surace stunned him with a perfect right hand to knock him out in the sixth. Munguia had stopped Erik Bazinyan in the 10th round three months earlier and before that he suffered his first pro defeat when he dropped a unanimous decision to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in a shot at the undisputed Super Middleweight Title and was decked in the fourth round. Zon last saw action in May when he stopped Nahuel Gonzalo Garcia in the fifth round for the WBA Gold Super Middleweight Title.
Munguia vs Zon Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Nikita Zon +600
- Jaime Munguia -1000
My Pick
This will be the 30-year-old Munguia’s 49th fight since making his pro debut as a teenager back in 2013. He makes the ring walk with a fine mark of 46-2 with 35 Ko’s. As mentioned in the opening, his losses have been to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (UD) and Bruno Surace (KO6). Munguia first made a name for himself on the world scene against Sadam Ali when he stepped up in class. Munguia halted Ali in the fifth round in that contest in May, 2018 and won the WBO Jr. Middleweight Title.
He then defended the belt against Liam Smith, Brandon Cook, Takeshi Inoue, Dennis Hogan and Patrick Allotey before moving up to middleweight. At 160 lbs, he stopped Gary O’Sullivan in the 11th round in 2019 and then halted Tureano Johnson after six to win the vacant WBO Inter Continental Middleweight Title. He stopped Kamil Szeremeta after six rounds before beating Gabriel Rosado by unanimous decision and then halting D’Mitrius Ballard, Jimmy Kelly and Gonzalo Coria.
Some of those fights highlighted Munguia’s defensive shortcomings but that’s a part of what makes him so exciting. The other part of his fan-friendly style is the fact he has heavy fists as 76.1 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. However he has stopped just one of his last five opponents and his record 3-2 over that span. Munguia reportedly went 128-10 in the amateurs and now has 251 rounds of pro experience under his belt. However he struggled against Dennis Hogan and Takeshi Inoue as he went the distance with both of them and took quite a few shots.
Munguia also had trouble making the 160 lb weight limit and after several outings as a middleweight the 6-foot-tall Mexican took his 72-inch reach up to super middleweight against Jimmy Kelly. He then moved back to middleweight to fight Gonzalo Coria but moved north to 168 lbs once again. Munguia beat Sergiy Derevyanchenko and John Ryder at super middleweight before meeting Alvarez and then stopping Erik Bazinyan in 10 rounds. Next came the two fights with Surace and the win over Resendiz for the WBA Belt.
As for Nikita Zon he’s a 33-year-old southpaw who carries around a near-perfect mark of 12-0-1 with 10 Ko’s. He made his pro debut in 2021 and has fought 67 rounds since. Zon had an extensive amateur career and was crowned Russian National Champion in 2024 at light heavyweight as an IBA pro. He stands just over 6-feet-1-inches tall with an unlisted reach for a 1.5-inch height advantage on Munguia. The one blemish on his record is an eight-round draw with Odiljon Aslonov in 2022.
Zon and Aslonov met in a rematch in 2024 with Zon stopping him in the sixth round to capture the WBA Asia Central Super Middleweight Belt. As far as power is concerned, Zon appears to have plenty of it in his attack as his current knockout ratio in his victories stands at 83.3 per cent. His last six wins have come by stoppage and he’s gone the distance just three times as a pro. Zon has never fought outside of Russia though and he’s been facing domestic-level opponents up to now. Therefore he’ll be taking a big step up in class against Munguia this weekend.
Prediction…
The WBA originally ordered Munguía to fight Bektemir Melikuziev in a mandatory defence but he was bypassed in favour of Zon, who is currently number nine in the world by the WBA. Therefore it’s not certain that the WBA will officially sanction this bout as title match or if they will strip the title from the champ. Munguia has been dropped before and was stopped by the light-hitting Bruno Surace. This means we can’t rule out the possibility of the hard-hitting Zon halting him this weekend. Munguia does get hit quite a bit so this is certainly a realistic outcome regardless of what the odds say. Zon is basically an unknown in this bout so Munguia will need to rely on his experience against better opposition. He will also need to lets his hands go while making sure he doesn’t leave himself open too often. To be honest, I don’t really know a lot about Zon but I do know Munguia and this is why this could be a very close call. I’ll go with Munguia here due to his pro experience but don’t be shocked if he gets caught along the way.
Munguia’s experience could be crucial.
Play: Munguia -1000 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Jaime Munguia betting • Nikita Zon betting