By Edward Chaykovsky
Undefeated super bantamweight contender Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs) is the mandatory challenger to WBO world champion Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 knockouts).
Donaire vs. Magdaleno is very close to being finalized for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Jessie Vargas card, which takes place on November 5th at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Considering that he was on the verge of a world title shot, it was very unexpected when he cut ties with trainer Joel Diaz and hired Manny Robles to replace him.
Magdaleno is currently training with Robles in Carson, California. Diaz's gym is located two hours away in Indio.
“It’s been a great change and I see a great future with me and Manny together,” said Magdaleno. “I’ve already seen a lot of improvement in the last two months.”
According to Magdaleno, he left Diaz after noticing the trainer's demeanor completely change after his fiery split with Timothy Bradley last year.
The split between Diaz and Bradley was well documented and it got very personal in the press. The two had worked together since Bradley turned pro. Diaz claimed the split caught him completely off-guard, and blamed Bradley's wife Monica for the internal rift. Bradley blamed Diaz for his lackluster showings in several contests. After they went their separate ways, Bradley hired Teddy Atlas, who at the time was retired from training fighters.
Once Diaz changed mentally, Magdaleno felt it was time to follow Bradley out the door.
“Me and Joel weren’t clicking anymore,” Magdaleno said. “The fire with him kind of died out after Tim Bradley left him and his passion for the sport wasn’t there. He treated me like I was just any fighter and I didn’t respect that, and had to tell him I’m packing my bags.”
