Mark Magsayo was living his dream on Sunday (Manila time) as he fought in the undercard of his childhood hero Manny Pacquiao at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
But it almost turned into a nightmare for the 26-year-old resident of Rizal.
Magsayo could not sustain a strong 10-8 first round against Julio Ceja, falling in the scorecards entering the fifth round. Then came a stunning body shot by the Mexican in the fifth round that dropped him.
Photo from Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
“I got knocked down and I got surprised,” he shared.
“But I focused my mind on what I wanted – a world championship shot. It’s my dream today and now it’s coming true.”
Though picking up the seventh and ninth rounds in the judges’ scorecards, Magsayo was terribly behind. In fact, two judges had the bout at 86-83 while the third judge had it 87-82 in favor of Ceja.
Magsayo cannot settle for a draw. He needed to go for broke. And that is what he did in the 10th round.
The former ALA Promotions standout burst off the gates to start the round. Cornering Ceja, he blasted two powerful rights that sent the native of Tlalnepantla down and out.
“I just worked a lot on the straight punches. I kept working it round after round and when I saw he was hurt, I followed it up,” said Magsayo who went up to 23-0 with 16KOs in his prizefighting career.
It was a statement victory as well as he is now the top contender in the World Boxing Organization’s featherweight division.
Photo from Ryan Hafey/Premier Boxing Champions
And he hopes that he has gotten the attention of WBA “super” champ Léo Santa Cruz, “regular” titleholder Leigh Wood, and World Boxing Council kingpin Gary Russell Jr.
“Hopefully, my next fight is a world title shot.”
