HBO NOT DONE YET? JAIME MUNGUIA LIKELY TO HEADLINE ON NETWORK DEC. 8 AT THE FORUM

HBO Sports insisted that the October 27 show featuring the Daniel Jacobs-Sergey Derevyanchenko middleweight title bout wasn’t necessarily the network’s last offering. It appears it wasn’t simply lip service.

HBO has an obligation to telecast one more Jaime Munguia fight, multiple sources told The Ring, and the rising Mexican star is pegged for a December 8 junior middleweight title defense at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

There’s three opponents under consideration for the assignment, according to sources. One such name is undefeated Japanese 154-pounder Takeshi Inoue (13-0-1, 7 knockouts). The HBO event would go head-to-head with ESPN’s telecast of Vasiliy Lomachenko-Jose Pedraza at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Madison Square Garden Company also owns and operates The Forum.

With HBO ready to scrap boxing from its programming going forward, Munguia (31-0, 26 KOs) figures to be the last headliner on the network unless it returns to the sport in the future.

The co-feature could pit light heavyweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol against Joe Smith, according to sources. That bout could also headline its own HBO show in late November. Showtime Sports head honcho Stephen Espinoza acknowledged Wednesday that he’s interested in televising Bivol’s fights on his network with HBO ditching boxing, and who wouldn’t be interested in obtaining the fighter’s services.

Bivol (14-0, 11 KOs) is one of the most intriguing young fighters in the game with combination of precision punching and power. Showtime is heavily invested in the 175-pound division with both Adonis Stevenson and Badou Jacks regularly appearing on the network The pair fought to a spirited draw on Showtime in May.

Bivol’s last fought bouts have appeared on HBO programming. Munguia, 21, has fought five times in 2018, with his last three outings televised on HBO.