Tijuana's native Jaime Munguia speaks to the press ahead of his fight against British Jimmy Kelly.
The two fighters showed face at their final press conference Thursday, where they spoke about the main event taking place at the Honda Center in Anaheim this Saturday.
The Tijuana native says that he feels incredibly prepared for this fight, and he cannot wait to show off his fighting progress when he steps into the ring with Kelly tomorrow evening.
“I feel excited to be back in Anaheim," said the undefeated contender. "I want to thank everyone for being here. I am happy with my training camp. I think we are well prepared, and we will show it off this Saturday. There have been some opportunities that didn’t happen; let’s hope that they do happen in the future. Jimmy Kelly is a great fighter, he has all my respect, but I think I will raise my hands in victory on Saturday," he added.
Munguia says that one of the changes he made to boost his fighting potential was moving to Big Bear, where he was able to spar with a wide variety of boxers of different weight to develop a greater skill set.
“I moved to Big Bear for more sparring opportunities, mostly due to my size. There is more variety and available fighters [to go spar in Big Bear], so it helps me more. It’s beautiful, a great place to train, and we are there 100% to work," said Munguia.
And on the other side of the ring, Jimmy Kelly says that he will utilize this great opportunity this weekend, where he knows he will have his handful against one of the best in the business in Munguia.
However, the British fighter says he is confident he will come away with a win.
“At the end of the day, it’s me in the ring. I’ve been to Australia and got robbed, and I came back and beat Kanat Islam. I got an opportunity here, and I’m looking forward to it. I’m going up against one of the best, and I’m confident I will get the job done. I also want one of those Rolexes," said Kelly. “I’ve been at a good level. My camp was great, a little short, but I was in preparation anyways. I’m looking forward to the fight.”
For Kelly, this fight is not only a big Saturday night for him, but his family as a whole. Tomorrow, fight night, is also the birthday of Jimmy's daughter.
“[Other fighters] probably don’t give me a chance because I’m quiet; I keep things to myself. I’m a family man at first. That’s my most important job. It’s my daughter’s birthday on the day of the fight. So I’m going to do it for her. I’m not a flashy person and don’t have too much on my name, but I come to fight. I’m going to be fighting my ass off," Kelly said
Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy, says that this fight will be filled with entertainment considering the talent we will be on display.
"It's going to be an entertaining fight. I've been studying Kelly for a while now. He's the real deal. He's coming back from an amazing win, and I strongly feel that when you're from the hotbed of boxing overseas in the UK. You have a chip on your shoulder. Whenever Jamie Munguia fights, it is going to be an action-packed fight. It's a great fight on paper, and once the bell rings, it will be a war."
