LOS ANGELES – Jermall Charlo isn’t the only opponent Juan Macias Montiel wants to fight again.

The Mexican middleweight contender hopes that a victory over Carlos Adames on Saturday night leads him to a rematch with countryman Jaime Munguia. There ordinarily would be no need for a second Munguia-Montiel bout because Munguia emphatically knocked out Montiel toward the end of the second round of their February 2017 fight in Cuautitlan Izcalli, Mexico.

Montiel would win the WBC’s interim middleweight title if he defeats Adames, though, which might make him an appealing opponent for Munguia.

“To have a second chance against him would be outstanding,” Montiel told BoxingScene.com before a press conference Thursday at The Westin Los Angeles Airport. “I would love for that to happen. And I think I would come out on top if I had the chance to face him again.”

Tijuana’s Munguia (40-0, 32 KOs) is the WBC’s second-ranked middleweight contender, but his handlers passed in March on an opportunity to face the Dominican Republic’s Adames (21-1, 16 KOs) in an elimination match. The sixth-ranked Montiel (23-5-2, 23 KOs), who gave Charlo a more difficult fight than expected in June 2021 at Toyota Center in Houston, jumped at the opportunity to face the number one-ranked Adames for the WBC’s secondary 160-pound championship at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Los Mochis’ Montiel, 28, rebuilt his career following that devastating defeat to Munguia 5½ years ago. The rugged contender has lost only to Houston’s Charlo (32-0, 22 KOs) since Munguia caught him with a right hand to his jaw that sent Montiel to the canvas face first just before the second round of their scheduled 10-rounder concluded.

“It was just a matter of going after what I wanted, without giving up, and working twice as hard,” Montiel said. “I went to the gym and I polished everything I needed to polish, hoping and knowing that there would be another chance down the road. It was just a matter of bearing down and knowing that we just don’t have to make the same mistake twice. That’s all.”

Montiel admits he didn’t prepare properly prior to his loss to Munguia, whom he fought at the welterweight limit of 147 pounds. That costly setback convinced Montiel that if he didn’t take training more seriously, he wouldn’t become a championship-caliber boxer.

“When it comes to preparation, just the simple act of getting up in the morning and going for a run, I didn’t wanna do that,” Montiel said. “I didn’t feel like that was necessary at the time. And I was dead wrong. I was able to fix that after [losing to Munguia]. I realized how important it is to have that kind of discipline.”

Showtime will air Adames-Montiel as the co-feature before its main event – a 12-round bout between WBC interim super welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora (19-0-1, 13 KOs), of Coachella, California, and Carlos Ocampo (34-1, 22 KOs), of Ensenada, Mexico.

This three-bout broadcast, which is scheduled to start at 10 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT, will begin with a 12-round rematch between IBF junior bantamweight champion Fernando Martinez (14-0, 8 KOs), of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and the Philippines’ Jerwin Ancajas (33-2-2, 22 KOs). Martinez upset Ancajas by unanimous decision in their 12-round, 115-pound title fight February 26 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas.

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.