Jaime Munguia started off slow. Then, during the fifth round, he introduced Jimmy Kelly to his game-changing power.
After arguably being down on the scorecards through the first four rounds, Munguia blasted a game Kelly with a left hook in the fifth frame. It was the first of three knockdowns that Munguia produced toward an emphatic fifth-round TKO at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., and live on DAZN, on Saturday night. The victory spelled Munguia's 40th professional win as he improved to 40-0 with 33 KOs.
"I'm ready to go back to 160 (pounds) to fight for a world title or to move up to 168 pounds," Munguia told DAZN's Chris Mannix after defeating Kelly at a catchweight of 165 pounds. "I'm ready for any challenge."
He added in a warning shot call out to WBC middleweight champion Jermall Charlo: "Show some balls and stop hiding behind Al Haymon and come fight me."
For a few rounds Saturday night, it looked like Munguia wasn't deserving of a step up in competition against bigger names as the relatively-unknown Kelly timed punches early and caught the Mexican fighter off guard with left hooks.
After arguably being down by three rounds, Munguia found an opening to rock Kelly with a left hook in the fifth. The shot sent Kelly reeling back as he tasted the canvas. Although Kelly beat the count, Munguia deposited him back onto the mat — this time with a right uppercut to split his guard. A gutsy Kelly got up yet again but a power flurry from Munguia put him back down for the third time. Kelly made it up on his feet but the referee didn't see enough from the Brit to allow him to continue, ending the bout right there.
Here's how the entire Munguia-Kelly main card went.