ONTARIO, California – Mark Magsayo admitted Thursday that Julio Ceja hurt him with body shots during their back-and-forth fight 18 months ago.
Magsayo also reminded those that think he can’t take it to the body that Ceja couldn’t put him away with all those body blows and that he came back to viciously knock out Ceja in the 10th round of their August 2021 bout at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Brandon Figueroa nevertheless views Magsayo’s vulnerability to the body as one of his keys to winning their 12-round fight for the WBC interim featherweight title Saturday night at Toyota Arena.
“I’ve seen it in a couple of his fights,” Figueroa told BoxingScene.com following a press conference at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Ontario Airport. “As long as you attack him [with body punches], he gasses out right away. I can really focus on that. I can take him to deep waters and basically just drown him. But I see [body punching] as a very effective weapon, which is literally my best weapon. I feel like if I just catch him with a good body shot, it could end early.”
Figueroa (23-1-1, 18 KOs) acknowledged that the Philippines’ Magsayo (24-1, 16 KOs) is a dangerous puncher in his own right. The former WBA/WBC 122-pound champion just doesn’t think there’s anything Magsayo could’ve done during his recently completed training camp that will help him better deal with Figueroa’s consistent attack to the body.
“Maybe he prepared himself well for that, you know, that I’m a body puncher,” Figueroa said. “Maybe he strengthened his core. But I feel like it won’t matter. I feel like once you’re weak to the body, you’re weak to the body. It’s been shown in a couple of his fights, and I’ve just gotta go out there and execute. Trust me, I’ve seen that. So, I’m just gonna go out there and make sure I get him to the body.”
Ceja caught Magsayo with several left hooks to the body that weakened him during the fifth round. The hard-hitting Mexican later nailed Magsayo with a left hook to his chin that sent Magsayo to one knee with 11 seconds remaining in the fifth round.
Ceja continued to hammer away at Magsayo’s body during the sixth round, but Magsayo remained on his feet. Magsayo eventually blasted Ceja (32-5-1, 28 KOs) with back-to-back right hands that knocked him unconscious approximately 45 seconds into the 10th round.
Figueroa promised he won’t allow Magsayo to recover if he hurts the former WBC 126-pound champion to the body.
“I’m an excellent body puncher, probably one of the most vicious body punchers,” Figueroa said. “My body punches aren’t anything to compare to Julio Ceja’s. Especially at this weight, I just feel a lot stronger, powerful, explosive, so I think he’s in for a surprise. I just can’t wait for Saturday.”
The 26-year-old Figueroa, of Weslaco, Texas, and the 27-year-old Magsayo, of Valencia, California, will headline a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET.
Former IBF/IBO/WBA 154-pound champion Jarrett Hurd (24-2, 16 KOs), of Accokeek, Maryland, and Mexico’s Armando Resendiz (13-1, 9 KOs) are scheduled to square off in the 10-round, 162-pound co-feature. Uruguayan middleweight contender Amilcar Vidal (16-0, 12 KOs) will encounter Elijah Garcia (13-0, 11 KOs), a 19-year-old southpaw from Wittmann, Arizona, in the 10-round opener of Showtime’s telecast.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.