In the evening's co-main event, Jaime Munguia (31-0, 26KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico defended his WBO Junior Middleweight Title with a dominant third-round technical knockout victory against Brandon Cook (20-2, 12KOs) of Ontario, Canada in tonight's co-main event, which was scheduled for 12 rounds at T-Mobile Arena. (photos by Ed Mulholland and Zanfer). David Lemieux (40-4, 34KOs) of Montreal, Canada defeated Gary O'Sullivan (28-3, 22KOs) of Cork, Ireland via knockout in the first round of a middleweight bout scheduled for 12 rounds. Lemieux earned a chance at the WBA Middleweight Title by stopping O'Sullivan at 2:44 seconds of the aforementioned round In what will surely go down as one of the closest and most hard-fought middleweight title fights in boxing history, Lineal Middleweight World Champion Canelo Alvarez (50-1-2, 34 KOs) went toe-to-toe in 12 rounds of non-stop action to defeat the reigning WBC, WBA and IBO Middleweight World Champion Gennady "GGG" Golovkin (38-1-1, 34 KOs) by majority decision in their middleweight championship rematch. The fight was stopped at 1:03 of the third round. Vergil Ortiz Jr. (11-0, 11KOs) of Dallas, Texas defeated Roberto Ortiz (35-3-2, 26KOs) of Torreon, Mexico via technical knockout in the second round of a super lightweight fight originally slated for eight rounds. Alexis Rocha (12-0, 8 KOs) of Santa Ana, California was victorious against Carlos Ortiz (10-3, 10 KOs) of Torreon, Mexico in an eight-round super welterweight fight. Rocha won with scores of 80-72, 80-72 ,79-73. Jaba Khositashvili (4-0, 2KOs) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania beat Lawrence King (4-1, 3KOs) of San Bernardino, California via unanimous decision in a six-round light heavyweight fight. Kohsitashvili won with all scores of 58-56. Brian Ceballo (5-0, 3KOs) of New York, New York won via TKO against David Thomas (6-3-2, 2KOs) of Orange, Texas in the second round of a welterweight fight originally scheduled for six rounds.<doc-sep>By Keith Idec LAS VEGAS – Boxing’s most active world champion overwhelmed another opponent Saturday night. Jaime Munguia beat up Canadian contender Brandon Cook on the Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin undercard at T-Mobile Arena. Tijuana’s Munguia (31-0, 26 KOs) knocked down Cook in the third round and continued to assault Cook until referee Tony Weeks stopped their scheduled 12-round, 154-pound title fight at 1:03 of the third round. The 32-year-old Cook (20-2, 13 KOs) lost by technical knockout for the second time in his past four fights. Kazakhstan’s Kanat Islam (25-0, 20 KOs) stopped Cook in the ninth round of their bout last September 9 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The 21-year-old Munguia made the second defense of the WBO junior middleweight title he won by destroying Sadam Ali four months ago. Munguia floored Brooklyn’s Ali (26-2, 14 KOs) four times in that fight and stopped him in the fourth round May 12 at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Munguia wasted no time in making his first title defense against mandatory challenger Liam Smith (26-2-1, 14 KOs). He dropped England’s Smith in the sixth round and out-pointed the former WBO 154-pound champion in their 12-rounder at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. His third fight in four months was even shorter than his demolition of Ali. Cook tried to take the fight to Munguia at the start of the third round, yet quickly found himself on the wrong end of a Munguia barrage that sent Cook to the canvas. Munguia also appeared to hit Cook while he was down. A game Cook got up and continued, only to have Munguia swarm him. Weeks wisely moved in to save Cook from further damage as Munguia unloaded head and body shots on him. An overhand right by Munguia moved Cook into a neutral corner late in the second round. Munguia viciously assaulted Cook toward the end of the first round. He hit the challenger with an overhand right that knocked Cook into the ropes with about 30 seconds to go in the opening round. Munguia then followed Cook to his Cook’s corner and unloaded a barrage of head and body shots that left Cook covering up. Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.<doc-sep>By Miguel Maravilla Exciting WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia (30-0, 25 KO’s) of Tijuana, Mexico is set to make his pay per view debut this Saturday as he will take on Brandon Cook (20-1, 13 KOs) of Toronto, Canada. Munguia will be featured in the co-main event to the anticipated rematch between Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin live on HBO Pay Per View. “This is a big opportunity to be on this card and most importantly fighting on this Mexican holiday weekend. It’s special for every Mexican fighter to fight on this weekend. I am ready to give everyone a great fight,” Jaime Munguia told Fightnews.com®. Coming off a tough unanimous decision win over Liam Smith of England in July, Munguia went the distance twelve rounds for the first time in his career. Munguia successfully defended his WBO title for the first time he won over Sadam Ali. “I learned a lot in the last fight. I learned not to get desperate. I was expecting less of him but he came well prepared. It was a good experience,” Munguia commented on his last fight. The 21-year-old had some flaws in the fight but also displayed his potential and definite room for improvement. “I had some flaws that I noticed. We have been working on correcting those mistakes,” Munguia explained. Since becoming world champion, Munguia’s stock has risen. Last year in December, I was fortunate to cover his U.S debut on the Mikey Roman vs. Orlando Salido non-televised undercard from the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas as he would go on to score a knockout over Paul Valenzuela. Four months later his name was mentioned as a potential opponent for Gennady Golovkin to replace “Canelo” Alvarez, after Canelo’s clenbuterol scandal. The Nevada State Athletic Commission would deny Munguia the opportunity and as the old saying goes. “Things happen for a reason and I still thank the Nevada State Athletic Commission for denying me that fight,” Munguia said. For Munguia, the rejection can be the best thing that happened as he would later get the opportunity at the title against Sadam Ali, going on to annihilate the 2008 U.S Olympian and winning the world title on the big HBO stage. “This year has been the biggest of my career so far. But the reality is that I cannot lose focus because everybody wants my title and everybody’s after me,” The champ said. Now he gets the opportunity on a much more major platform on HBO Pay Per View. “It’s an honor to be on this pay per view card. I’m very happy to be able to participate in this big event full of stars,” Following his win over Smith, Munguia went right back to the gym working with his trainer Robert Alcazar along with his father Jaime Munguia Sr. Mr. Munguia was also a boxer fighting briefly as a heavyweight. The duo wrapped training camp in Southern California in preparation for Cook. “I’m ready. I have trained really, really hard. I need to focus a lot. I’ve been training in L.A. for my last two bouts. Following my last fight, I went right back to the gym in Tijuana. The collaboration between my father and Robert has been good,” Munguia on his preparation. His Canadian opponent Brandon Cook is coming off two straight knockout wins since suffering his only defeat to undefeated Kanat Islam (25-0, 20 KOs). “Brandon Cook is a really good opponent, a really strong opponent. He has a lot of experience and is a strong and tough opposition,” Munguia said. All eyes and focus this Saturday will be on the anticipated rematch between Canelo and Golovkin as many households will be hosting fight parties with families and friends gathered to watch. While sports bars and pubs will also be hosting. Prior to the big fight, many casual viewers will get to watch Munguia for the first time as the young champion will look to make a statement. “This is a huge opportunity and I have an obligation to show people what I’m about,” Munguia stated. “I’m excited and I can’t wait, and I’m ready for Saturday.” Follow Miguel on Twitter @MigMaravilla<doc-sep>
LAS VEGAS -- Through just three fights on the world level, 21-year-old WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia continues to look like nothing but a problem for the 154-pound division. Given a showcasing co-main event spot on Saturday's Canelo Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin II pay-per-view card at T-Mobile Arena, Munguia (31-0, 26 KOs) dominated the smaller and overmatched Brandon Cook in a third-round TKO. Munguia, a native of Mexico, first gained prominence when he nearly challenged Golovkin for his middleweight titles in May after Alvarez withdrew from their originally scheduled rematch following a pair of failed drug tests. After Munguia was rejected by the Nevada State Athletic Commission as an acceptable opponent, he used the preceding months to become one of boxing's most promising action fighters on the rise. Respect box? Subscribe to my podcast -- In This Corner with Brian Campbell -- where we take an in-depth look at the world of boxing each week. A knockout of then-champion Sadam Ali in May and a hard-fought decision win over Liam Smith in July led Munguia to a quick return against Cook, a native of Canada who came in as a heavy underdog. Towering over Cook as an extremely large 154-pounder, Munguia looked more like a light heavyweight as he outlanded his opponent 43 to 13, according to CompuBox, by focusing on the body. Munguia also kept with the them of the PPV undercard by contributing a third early finish when he dropped Cook (20-2, 13 KOs) with a body shot in Round 3 and continued with his predatory attack along the ropes moments later until referee Tony Weeks jumped in to end the fight. "My last fight, I wasn't focused enough for that fight but this time I was focused," Munguia said. "I think I'm always looking for the knockout and that was part of the problem. Now, I focused a little bit more and you are seeing the results now." Asked after the fight whether he would consider seeking an opportunity against a fighter as dangerous as Golovkin instead of continuing his steady growth at such a young age, the hungry Munguia didn't back down. "Each fight you see what you did well and didn't do so well and you learn from each fight and bring it with you into the next fight," Munguia said. "It's a process. I'm learning other things and I'm still young but if [a Golovkin fight] comes on the table again, I'll take the fight." For complete coverage of Canelo vs. GGG 2, please click here.