MARK “Magnifico” Magsayo has star potential written all over him following a magnificent finish in boxing’s biggest stage.
Magsayo knocked former world champion Julio Ceja out cold in the 10th round in a World Boxing Council featherweight title eliminator in one of the featured fights of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Yordenis Ugas show on Aug. 22, 2021 (PH time) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The 25-year-old Magsayo landed a vicious right straight that put Ceja to sleep in the 50-second mark of the 10th round.
Ceja was out for a few minutes and was assisted in walking out of the ring.
Magsayo started out swinging and dropped Ceja with a lead left hook in the opening round. He outgunned Ceja with his blistering speed in the first few rounds of the scheduled 12-round contest.
Ceja, however, started to gain momentum and targeted Magsayo’s body. The 28-year-old Mexican veteran’s body shots took their toll on Magsayo and seemed to slow him down.
Magsayo looked gassed out in the fifth round and he also was bleeding through his nose. Ceja finally had his moment as he dropped Magsayo on his knee with a counter left hook in the fifth round.
Magsayo survived the storm and slowly regained his senses by clinching and backing up at the same time throwing counter punches.
Magsayo look rejuvenated in the 10th round and came out swinging, landing a combination early. He then found his moments later with that solid straight that put Ceja to sleep.
Magsayo is a step closer to a world title shot after becoming the mandatory challenger of WBC featherweight king Gary Russell Jr. He also won the World Boxing Organization International featherweight belt.
Magsayo remained unbeaten by winning the biggest fight of his career thus far. He improved to 23-0 with 16 knockouts. Ceja, in the meantime, suffered another defeat and dropped to 32-5-1 with 28 knockouts.
Meanwhile, John Dato, the other Filipino fighter in the undercard, suffered the first loss of his career.
The 28-year-old Dato lost to Mexican Angel Contreras by unanimous decision.
Contreras dropped Dato with a right uppercut in the third round and walked away with the convincing unanimous decision. All three judges saw Contreras winning with scores of 78-73, 77-74 and 77-74.
Dato fell to 14-1-1 with nine knockouts, while Contreras improved to 11-4-2 with six knockouts. (EKA)