A big fight has to be next for Jaime Munguia.

That is the call coming from fans, critics and even Munguia himself, who maintains an active schedule but against less than stellar opposition. The unbeaten former WBO junior middleweight will face Argentina’s Gonzalo Gaston Coria (21-5, 8KOs) in a ten-round bout above the middleweight limit this Saturday on DAZN from Arena Astros in Guadalajara, Mexico. The idea is to get a win this weekend and then put his foot down for a title fight to launch his 2023 campaign—specifically, unified WBA/IBF middleweight titlist Gennadiy Golovkin (42-2-1, 37KOs) or WBC 160-pound beltholder Jermall Charlo (32-0, 22KOs)

“Charlo, Golovkin—those are the level of fights that we want,” Munguia told BoxingScene.com. “We are looking to make those fights. Hopefully in 2023 we get a fight at that level.

For now, Tijuana’s Munguia (40-0, 32KOs) prepares for another stay busy opportunity.

There was a point when the 26-year-old believed he was next facing former title challenger John Ryder. The two agreed to terms, only for the fight to never materialize for reasons beyond both boxers’ control.

It was the second significant fight in a row to fall through for Munguia, who was in advanced talks to face Charlo earlier this year. A deal was reached in principle, only to collapse at the eleventh hour. Munguia went on to face and beat England’s Jimmy ‘Kilrain’ Kelly (26-3, 10KOs) via third-round knockout on June 11 in Anaheim, California.

The silver lining for Munguia is that Charlo has not fought since then or at any point since last June. However, patience has worn thin among many in the industry as Munguia’s middleweight campaign has been the equivalent of treading water since moving up nearly three years ago.

“I really hope that 2023 brings a big fight,” admits Munguia. “The goal for my next fight, the first fight of 2023 is to fight either for a championship or against a big name.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox