(Cris Esqueda/ Golden Boy Promotions)
NORTH HOLLYWOOD, California – Manny Robles has been through this before – the whirlwind of transporting a fighter from virtual anonymity to a world title with all eyes upon them.
In the case of Mexico’s Jose Armando “Toro” Resendiz, Robles has watched his 11:1 underdog upset former titlist Caleb Plant last year, then get elevated to full WBA 168lbs champion upon the retirement of Terence Crawford, and now move on to a May 2 title defense against former junior middleweight titleholder Jaime Munguia.
“Dreams do come true when you put your mind to it,” Robles surmised in reference to both Resendiz, 16-2 (11 KOs), and his former overnight heavyweight champion, Andy Ruiz Jnr.
“When you put the work in, show up everyday and stay consistent, and never allow anyone to say what you can’t do, then things like this happen. Stay grounded, stay humble, stay disciplined.”
That describes Resendiz, 27, who edged Plant by split decision in May 2025, and now returns to defend his new belt against fellow Mexican Munguia 45-2, (35 KOs), who unsuccessfully challenged Saul “Canelo” Alvarez for the undisputed super middleweight championship in 2024.
Resendiz vs. Munguia is the co-main event to the WBA/WBO cruiserweight title defense by Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez against WBC light heavyweight titlist David Benavidez on a Prime Video/DAZN pay-per-view at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena.
“What an honor to be among such great fighters. I’m not taking this for granted,” Resendiz told BoxingScene at a media workout. “I’m motivated and eager to show even more.
“Fighting the big names always motivates me. What I’m going to do is give my best in the ring. As long as I do that, everything’s fine.”
The importance of the bout heightened exponentially Monday when a boxing official connected to Canelo told BoxingScene that WBC titleholder Christian Mbilli is not necessarily the frontrunner for Alvarez’s expected September 12 bout in Saudi Arabia. Rather, Mbilli is “in the mix” along with Resendiz and Hamzah Sheeraz, who will face Alem Begic for the vacant WBO belt on May 23.
“It goes back to what I said before the Plant fight – that there’s no such thing as a tune-up fight,” TGB Promotions head Tom Brown told BoxingScene in reference to Resendiz shocking Plant. “There’s your proof. The kid’s now sitting here as super middleweight champion of the world at 16-2 on this big pay-per-view. And…
2026-04-22 19:00:00
