Featherweight Iman Lee (14-0, 8 KOs) showed poise, precision, and maturity beyond his years on Saturday, outclassing Mexico's Hector Munguia Calderon (15-1-1, 9 KOs) over six rounds to advance to phase three of the WBC Grand Prix single-elimination tournament. Fighting at the Global Theater in Riyadh’s Boulevard City and live on DAZN, Lee controlled the pace of the bout and neutralized the aggressive Munguia with superb defense, intelligent angles, and sharp counterpunching to earn a unanimous decision by scores of 59-55 (twice) and 58-56. “The fight went pretty much as we expected,” admitted Lee immediately after the victory. “We were prepared for him to be even more aggressive.”
In a classic contrast of styles, Munguia pressed forward from the opening bell, trying to back the American to the ropes while Lee calmly fired accurate counters while gauging timing and distance. The difference in skill became clear in round two, as the Yonkers, New York native began to carve Munguia up from close range, landing a crisp left uppercut on the inside and switching directions to fire sneaky counter shots to the body.
Lee’s defense was on display in round three, as Munguia increased the pressure and began cutting off the ring more effectively. Lee responded by catching shots on his right glove or rolling them off his left shoulder, then firing back with clean combinations to the head and body before spinning out of harm’s way. Munguia turned to plan B in round four, switching to southpaw and letting his hands go with looping lefts and rights. Lee absorbed a few shots but adjusted and avoided most of the incoming, answering with a beautiful counter uppercut that snapped the Mexican’s head back late in the round.
“I think him turning southpaw allowed for more openings with the right hand,” explained Lee. “I didn’t have to make too many adjustments — just not stay on the ropes for too long and if I did, I had to get my shots off, spin him, or grab and place him where I wanted him to be.”
That strategy worked well, as Lee was ahead on all judges scorecards heading into round five. Knowing that the fight was slipping away, Munguia came out swinging over the final two rounds. Lee remained composed, creating distance by landing stiff jabs, picking his moments to counter and slipping out of range when needed down the stretch. “It was a bit different fighting out here the second time around, being that I got my feet wet in the first phase and knew what to expect,” said Lee. “We made the proper adjustments from the previous fight — staying calm and taking advantage of a lot of the openings. I’m looking to continue to improve in phase three.”
With the win, the 25-year-old moves one step closer to the Grand Finale. Phase three takes place in October and will pit the Yonkers native against Brandon Mosqueda, another unbeaten Mexican puncher.
