WBO denies Dennis Hogan’s request for immediate rematch with Jaime Munguia

Badlefthook.com

Mandatory Dennis Hogan was written off when he went to Monterrey, Mexico, on April 13 to face WBO junior middleweight titleholder Jaime Munguia, but then he wound up giving Munguia a genuine scare, ultimately losing by controversial majority decision on scores of 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112 for Munguia.

Hogan and his team later filed a protest with the WBO, demanding an immediate rematch. Their issue wasn’t just with the scoring; they also said there had been no post-fight drug test, that their team had not been provided chairs or stools in the corner, and that the cornermen were not allowed full use of the apron.

There was also this video:

Kevin Iole✔@KevinI

Video from #MunguiaHogan where Munguia promoter Fernando Beltran and employee Juan Carlos Torres are hovering around the WBO supervisor, where scores of the fight are tallied. Hogan team members believe they’re giving scores to Munguia376 8:47 AM – Apr 19, 2019 194 people are talking about this Twitter Ads info and privacy

As we said before, though, the whole thing here was suspicious and unprofessional — and the drug testing part is a major problem — but likely not definitive enough to be actionable.

The WBO said they would appoint a panel of five independent judges to watch and score the fight, which they’ve done, and those judges concluded that Munguia won seven rounds to five, 115-113, denying Hogan’s request for an immediate rematch.

This is really not a surprise. If you’re the conspiracy kind of person, then it’s definitely no surprise. The 34-year-old Hogan (28-2-1, 7 KO) isn’t linked with a power promoter, doesn’t have the big money behind his career, and isn’t seen as a star. The 22-year-old Munguia, on the other hand, is with Golden Boy and Zanfer, and has been considered for the past year one of boxing’s rising young attractions. I’m not accusing anyone of anything, just saying none of this will surprise boxing fans. It’s a game where the rich have plenty of power over the relatively poor, and in this situation, Munguia’s team are “the rich.”

Going forward, Hogan’s career could go one of two ways. This could be a boost for him, as it should be, and make him a credible contender at 154 pounds, someone who will be in the mix for another title shot, with the WBO or WBC or IBF or WBA. Or it could, because it’s boxing, have the exact opposite impact. Hogan may now be seen as too high-risk for the reward of getting a win over him, and he might become an avoided man.

Munguia, meanwhile — his career will go on as if none of this ever happened, basically. His next fight, be it at 154 or 160, will be promoted heavily and he’ll be featured on DAZN and everything, same as before.