The Man Who Knocked Out Munguia Has a New Home: Bruno Surace Signs With Zuffa Boxing

Remember the night in Tijuana?

December 14, 2024. Jaime Munguia, at home, a heavy favorite against a Frenchman most of us had to look up. Bruno Surace got up off the floor in the second round and then put Munguia to sleep with one right hand in the sixth. It was the kind of upset that makes you check the stream to see if it's on a delay.

Well, "Brunello" has a new home. Zuffa Boxing announced early Friday that Surace "is officially under the #ZuffaBoxing banner," welcoming him with a simple "Bienvenue, Bruno." The signing graphic lists him as a super middleweight out of Marseille, France, at 26-1-2 with 5 KOs.

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That one loss tells the rest of the story. Munguia got his rematch on Canelo's undercard in Riyadh on May 3, 2025, and this time he didn't get careless. He walked Surace down over the second half and won a clear unanimous decision, 117-111 twice and 116-112. Surace was competitive early, but Munguia took over late and evened the score.

Here's the part that should worry Zuffa a little: box.live's record doesn't list a fight for Surace since that rematch, which would mean roughly 17 months out of the ring. Earlier this year he told the French outlet ICI Provence that he was close to a six-fight, three-year contract that would guarantee him two fights a year abroad. Zuffa's announcement didn't spell out the terms, so we don't know if this is that deal. Either way, a guy who has been waiting for a date finally has a company with every reason to give him one.

And Zuffa is clearly shopping. This comes days after Carlos Adames came aboard at middleweight, which we covered when Adames joined Zuffa and the 160 party got crowded. Surace is a different kind of signing. He's not a champion. He's a name with a highlight reel and one huge night in his back pocket, and that kind of fighter can sell a card.

Let's be honest, though. Surace is a puncher who has stopped five guys in 29 fights. The Munguia knockout was real, but so was the rematch, where a disciplined, pressuring fighter took him apart once the early danger passed. Whoever Zuffa matches him with first will tell us whether they see a contender or an attraction.

No opponent or date has been announced yet. When one is, we'll have it here, and you'll be able to call the round on Boxbid like everybody else who swears they saw Tijuana coming.

Sources:

• Zuffa Boxing on X (Surace signing announcement)
• World Boxing News on X
• BoxingScene: Munguia outpoints Surace in rematch
• The Ring: Munguia rematch report
• box.live: Bruno Surace record
• ICI Provence: Surace contract in the works