It has been nearly five years since Jaime Munguia has fought in his hometown, though never like what he will experience in his next bout.

The former WBO junior middleweight titlist and current top-rated 160-pound contender set for a dangerous showdown with fellow unbeaten middleweight D’Mitrius ‘Big Meech’ Ballard (21-0-1, 13KOs). The fight headlines a February 19 DAZN telecast from Plaza Monumental de Tijuana in Munguia’s Tijuana hometown, marking the first event at the famed location since March 2009.

Among those in attendance for that show just so happened to be the venue’s next headlining act.

“I remember growing up around the venue,” Munguia told reporters during a recent Zoom media conference call to discuss the event. “I remember attending an event where Julio Cesar Chavez (Junior) was on the show as well as (former three-division titlist Humberto) ‘Zorrita’ Soto. It was full.

“It was always a dream of mine to one day fight there and fill it up with all of my fans from Tijuana.”

Those plans are in place, or so suggest Zanfer Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions who will co-promote the event. It will mark just the second overall appearance in Mexico for Munguia since joining the Golden Boy stable, and his first in Tijuana since a third-round knockout on a March 2017 club show preceding his WBO junior middleweight title reign.

The undercard has yet to be revealed for the February 19 show, though it will have a lot to live up to in comparison to Munguia’s fondest memory of the venue. The March 2009 event saw Soto in a lightweight title defense, the continued progress of then-unbeaten Chavez Jr., Fernando Montiel making the transition from junior bantamweight to bantamweight titlist and the pro debut of a young heavyweight named Andy Ruiz Jr.

Golden Boy has done well in loading up its shows with significant supporting bouts especially since entering its original agreement with DAZN in 2018. Such expectations precede this event, as the hope is for the occasion to mark the start of a recurring series rather than a one-off event.

“We are aiming for 22,000-23,000 fans,” revealed Fernando Beltran, head of Zanfer Boxing and Munguia’s career-long promoter. “We are confident of drawing a crowd of that size. It is going to be an amazing turnout and an incredible event.

“We hope this fight plants the seed for networks to return here as they have in the past. This is our chance to prove that staging events on the border in Tijuana can attract fans from Southern California. It’s a great city, a great economy. Fans from both sides of the border can easily attend.”

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