The Bahian Neri Muñoz (63,500 kg) failed to solidify his transition from promise to boxing reality despite his second place in the WBA Jr. welterweight rankings. His gift of pompous projects and calculations quickly passed, destroying the time of joy he had imagined months ago in the Russian rings.
His clear defeat on points against his once well-known Georgian opponent Khariton Agrba (63,500), who won the twelve rounds of this fight held in Dubai and declared himself “out of contention” for the official title of American Gary Russell, was an absolute disappointment. Especially because of the new precedent of the quick KO that he had inflicted on Agrba himself months ago on Caucasian soil.
He lost most of his exposed attributes against the same opponent in unimaginable ways. His physical and temperamental qualities disappeared with the first ring of the bell. Like he was another boxer.
Supported by his city of Bahía Blanca, especially in the social and emotional sphere, which linked him to the memory of a famous local figure as the great champion of other times (Carlos María Giménez), he caused great disappointment since he did not give answers throughout the fight.
Muñoz, 28 years old and with a record of 18 wins (14 KOs) and 3 setbacks, committed one of the most visible sins of this profession: underestimating a rival -recently knocked unconscious- and face him again without any relevant problems. Neither technical nor strategic and without aerobic reserves. Nothing came of it and he was punched perfectly by Agrba, an intelligent but repetitive veteran making his way around the ring. Without angels or greater gifts for great epics.
The simultaneous promotion of the IBA (International Boxing Association) – formerly AIBA, an organization expelled from the International Olympic Committee for corruption – chaired by the obscure Russian millionaire Umar Kremlev, former security adviser to President Vladimir Putin, suspected of fraudulent deals that were never proven, and the World Boxing Association (WBA), led by the Venezuelan Gilberto Mendoza, who opened the doors of this boxing organization for a group unreliable leader opened, ratified the expansion. traditional organizations to new markets. The aspiring ones. And some Argentine boxers have come in here and had an impact. Like Mirco Cuello, interim featherweight world champion, in Libya.
Others are trying to fill the gaping void left by Buenos Aires’ Fernando “Pumita” Martínez’s defeat last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ousting the only world title held by a national boxing sport.
There have been outdoor winners like Francisco Verón and Claudio Daneff, but that is not enough to meet the demands that the great history of this sport requires. Both Jeremías Ponce of Buenos Aires, José Rosa of Rioja and Josué Agüero of Catamarca have not done enough to turn around a lost season, whose final “silver bullet” will be in the hands of Kevin Ramírez next Saturday on Saudi soil.
Muñoz experienced a rushed Cinderella story between Russia and Dubai. We all believed that his ending would be happy, but his unexpected unproductivity in the ring changed the epilogue of this adventure.
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