By Osiris Mendez, notifight.com

WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia indicates that he's still potentially going to face Japan's Takeshi Inoue on a date in December or January.

At the World Boxing Organization's 31st annual convention, the sanctioning body appointed Dennis Hogan as Munguia's mandatory challenger. 

The Mexican slugger says his next return is not finalized and he will wait for some news in the next few days from his promoter Fernando Beltrán to define date and opponent.

Munguia even indicated that if his upcoming fight does not materialize for December, he would have as plan B defend his championship in January 2019.

"It is still a possibility (face Inoue), nothing is for sure. I hope for nothing more than to know the name (of the next opponent) and I will be ready for him. It is rumored that we can go on December 15 (on the undercard of 'Canelo' Álvarez vs. Rocky Fielding), but that is not a fact either. It could be December or in January, where the date will get finalized for me to defend my title again," said Munguia.

For Munguia, he personally would like to close the year with a third defense of his WBO crown.

"I would like to close the year with one more defense, to give another show to the people, but I have to see what my promoter says," the boxer said.

The comments shared by the president of WBO, Francisco Valcárcel, referred to Munguía as a sensational world champion who brings honor to his country, and the Mexican fighter thanked him for those words.

"It is an honor that the president of the WBO expresses his thoughts about me in this manner. It is with great pride and an enormous responsibility to continue working hard," Munguia said.

"I did not expect everything that happened this year, but things have been given to us - and we have taken advantage of them. I have always liked training. When I fought for the title of the world they advised me two weeks before [the date], and I was ready, I was training. And now as a champion I train with double the hunger for victory."