Fight night in Houston
Munguia retains WBO belt with win over Inoue
Jan 27, 2019, 7:02 am
Jamie Munguia lands a left hook against Takeshi Inoue. Photo courtesy of Tom Hogan-hoganphotos and Golden Boy Promotions
Junior middleweight titlist Jaime Munguia earned a tough fought victory, defeating challenger Takeshi Inoue by unanimous decision to retain his World Boxing Organization title Saturday night at the Toyota Center. Munguia won by scores of 120-108 (x2) and 119-109. SportsMap.com scored the fight 118-110 for Munguia.
Despite the wide scores it wasn't a walk in the park for Munguia (32-0, 26 KOs). Inoue (13-1-1, 7 KOs) came out with the intent to make the fight as physical as possible, rushing Munguia and trapping him in the corner of the ring. This tactic was successful early in the fight but Munguia adjusted as the match wore on, managing to keep his distance and fire off thudding combinations that pushed back Inoue.
Munguia invested heavily in body shots, repeatedly raking Inoue was huge liver and kidney combinations through the middle rounds. Despite this Inoue never appeared to be hurt to the body. Munguia did his best work in the ninth and tenth rounds, buckling Inoue with big shots just before the bell in each. Despite the big punches, Munguia could not score a knockdown.
"It was a great fight. He was a great warrior. It was a great battle for me," Munguia said through a translator. "I was surprised by him. He did great. But I'll take the title. I got the win, and that's what matters."
Munguia, who stands taller and broader than Inoue and most other 154 pound fighters, absorbed Inoue's interior punches without appearing to be stunned by them. Munguia mentioned after the fight that his plan was to ultimately move up to middleweight.
Munguia, who is just 22, defended his WBO belt for the third time. The Tijuana native claimed the title after knocking out former champion Sadam Ali in May of last year.
Golden Boy, the title promoter for the card, announced an official attendance of 7,408. The fights streamed live on DAZN.
XU STUNS ROJAS TO TAKE FEATHERWEIGHT CROWN
In the co-feature Can Xu sprung a big upset, defeating Jesus Rojas to take his WBA "regular" featherweight title. Xu (16-2, 2 KO) won a unanimous decision, with scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112. The fight appeared to be closer than the judges scored it. SportsMap.com scored the fight 115-113 for Xu. The fight is a very early candidate for 2019 fight of the year, with both fighters firing off vicious combinations throughout the fight. Rojas (26-3-2, 19 KO) seemed to score with his heavier punchers earlier in the fight. As the match wore on Xu found more success defending and was able to beat Rojas to the punch on quick combinations. Xu, a virtual unknown out of his home country of China prior to the bout, is now in line for a major fight at 126 pounds, including the possibility of matchup with WBA "super" title holder Leo Santa Cruz.
ORTIZ BLASTS OUT VALDEZ
In the opening fight of the main telecast super-prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr. had no problem making quick work of Jesus Valdez in a fifth round knockout. Ortiz (12-0, 12 KO) spent the entire fight walking Valdez to the ropes, feeling no power from Valdez's counters. In the fourth Ortiz landed a huge right hand at the end of the round that caused Valdez to retreat and take more repeated shots to the head before the bell rang. In round five Ortiz opened a cut above Valdez's left eye. After busting the cut open further later in the round, Valdez was able to make it to the bell before the ringside doctor called a halt to the action. Following the fight Ortiz told DAZN's Chris Mannix that he felt he was ready for a title shot. Ortiz's promoter Oscar De La Hoya said he would like to make another fight for Ortiz, a Grand Prairie native, in Houston.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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