After 13 years as a pro, Mark Magsayo is getting a new start on a new platform and in a new weight division.
The former WBC featherweight titleholder Magsayo, 28-2 (18 KOs), will return to the ring this Sunday when he faces tough Irish southpaw Feargal McCrory. It will be Magsayo’s first fight at lightweight, a division to which his body has been better suited for several years, he says. The 10-round fight will be the co-featured bout at The Apex in Las Vegas and air live on Paramount+.
While Zuffa Boxing, the nascent promotion backed by UFC’s parent company TKO, has primarily featured up-and-coming talent that hasn’t been featured prominently elsewhere, Magsayo is one of the few already signed to the promotion who has already been a world titlist, building his career first in his native Philippines before coming stateside to make his mark as part of MP Promotions’ partnership with Premier Boxing Champions.
He now makes his home in Las Vegas, which is a long way away from his humble beginnings in Tagbilaran City, a provincial town in the Philippines province of Bohol, where he would sell pandesal rolls to passersby on the street. Magsayo began boxing at age 8 and had about 200 amateur fights, winning four national titles before turning professional at age 17. He won his world title in January 2022 and, after his only two defeats – in 2022 and 2023 – has won four straight at 130lbs.
Now 30, the explosive, power-punching Magsayo recently spoke to BoxingScene about his biggest nights as a fighter, looking back at five fights that have defined him as an all-action entertainer and champion.
Mark Magsayo TKO6 Chris Avalos
April 23, 2016: Cebu City, Philippines
About 30,000 fans packed into the outdoor Cebu City Sports Complex for a card that headlined a world title blowout for Nonito Donaire Jnr over Zsolt Bedak. Although the main event was a paint job by Donaire, the co-feature became one of the best fights of the year that few outside of the country would see. Avalos, a San Diego native who entered with a 26-4 record, appeared to be on the downswing of his career, having lost his only title opportunity by fifth-round stoppage against Carl Frampton the previous year, and then getting stopped by upcoming prospect Oscar Valdez later in the year.
Magsayo seemed on the verge of a major statement in the second round as he rocked Avalos with a combination of uppercuts and hooks. Magsayo, still just 19 at the time, showed his inexperience as he swung wildly with power shots trying to finish Avalos, and his over-excitement allowed the veteran to hold and clear the cobwebs. By the end of the round, Avalos’ jab was controlling the action. The action swung wildly the other way the following round, when Magsayo was dropped for the first time in his career on a series of left hooks. It was an experience that Magsayo says he had envisioned.
“Me and my team talked that if I get knocked down, I’m gonna get back up no matter what,” Magsayo said. “I had that mentality coming into the fight and I expected it to be a war. I was very inexperienced but just had my heart with me in that fight. That was also when I was still really young and comfortable fighting at 126.”
Magsayo survived the onslaught, and it would be his turn to rock Avalos – with a left hook inside the final minute of the fifth that made his legs buckle. Another Magsayo hook at the bell left Avalos defenseless. It appeared as though Avalos’ corner wanted to stop the fight between rounds, but the fight continued on through the sixth, with Avalos’ trainer hanging through the ropes ready to stop it at any minute. That moment came a minute into the sixth, as a brutal combination from Magsayo caused referee Danrex Tapdasan and the Avalos corner to call for the bout to be halted simultaneously.
“I didn’t expect that I’m gonna knock him out, I was surprised, though, because his eyes were out but he is still standing,” said Magsayo. “The legs are wobbly but still standing. After that fight, I told myself I can do this, I can go into big fights and beat these guys at 126. It taught me to bite down and just fight and not give up because any one of my punches can change the whole fight.”
Mark Magsayo KO10 Julio Ceja
August 21, 2021: Las Vegas
Magsayo finally got his opportunity on the big stage against Ceja, appearing on the Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas undercard at T-Mobile Arena. Ceja had appeared to be another measuring stick opponent, a former title challenger who had fallen short at the higher levels and was forced to move up to 126lbs after missing weight by more than four pounds for his junior featherweight title fight two years prior against Brandon Figueroa. Magsayo appeared ready to clear this hurdle early on as he dropped Ceja with a left hook just 30 seconds into the fight.
Ceja survived that early knockdown and began to target Magsayo’s body, which was already starting to show the ill effects of making the featherweight limit beyond a time when it was healthy to do so. Magsayo continued to stand in close range and exchange punches, which played into Ceja’s strategy. Near the end of the fifth round, an uppercut-left hook combo put Magsayo down.
“I’m gonna start by saying, Julio Ceja is the hardest puncher I met in the ring my whole career,” Magsayo said. “It felt like a rock hitting my jaw since the first round. He is a really, really great fighter.
“When he knocked me down on the jaw, it was a flash knockdown. It’s the body shots nonstop [that did the damage]. I looked at my coaches and said, ‘What should I do?’ Coach Marvin [Somodio] really stepped up and told me to use my legs and move around. I also believe in that fight I am not that experienced; I didn’t know how to clinch or stop his momentum. All I know is to trade punches with anybody. I am not really that smart coming into that fight. I proved that I have the heart to win battles like that. I also proved to myself that I am tested in battle and I can fight with the top guys and I can defeat champions. and be a world champion.”
Heading into the 10th round, Magsayo was down on all three scorecards, but he knew that Ceja would need to hear the final bell in order for that to matter. Magsayo came out strong in the 10th and was in control of the action when a pair of right hands – including one after Ceja was already unconscious on the way down – paired with Ceja’s head bouncing violently off the canvas brought the fight to an immediate halt. Magsayo did a backflip in celebration, but his reaction turned to concern at the despair Ceja found himself in.
“At first, I was not worried because he was able to leave the arena. But when they told me he is in the hospital and was not responding, I got scared. He has a family,” said Magsayo, a married father of one. “I called his team over and over again and check on him. The next day, they said he was responding already, so I talked to him. He could not believe I called him. We are friends now.”
Mark Magsayo MD12 Gary Russell Jnr
January 22, 2022: Atlantic City, New Jersey
The win over Ceja cleared Magsayo’s path to a world title opportunity. Magsayo, at that time the mandatory challenger to the WBC 126lbs title held by Gary Russell Jnr, wanted the fight next, even though many said he wasn’t ready. Leading up to the fight, Magsayo was a heavy underdog – but he never saw it that way.
“I asked for that fight. Sir Sean [Gibbons] asked me who I wanted and I said, ‘Give me the best; I wanna know if I can beat him. I want to test myself.’ And Sir Sean asked me again, ‘Are you sure? Because he is undefeated for seven years.’ And I said, ‘Yes, I want Gary Russell,’ and nobody wanted to fight him but me,” said Magsayo.
“Nobody believed I can win that fight but myself and my wife. That’s why I think he did not take me seriously. He thought I’m gonna be an easy fight for him, but I was faster than him. When he was not hurt yet, he was trading with me. I was more effective than him running.”
Magsayo got off to a sharp beginning, landing right hands and uppercuts on Russell, who was making his sixth defense of the title. In the fourth round, Russell emerged wincing at his right shoulder, which would be surgically repaired afterwards. Although he threw his lead hand only sparingly, the injury forced Russell to rely more on his left cross for counterpunching opportunities, which were effective through much of the middle part of the fight.
Magsayo took back control in the last third of the fight, this time using his counter left hook and combinations to score while Russell continued to look for potshot opportunities. After the final bell, one judge had it even at 114-114, while the other two scored it narrowly for Magsayo, seven rounds to five, making Magsayo the new titleholder.
“He said he fought with one hand, but before the fight we heard him in the locker room warming up, so fast and so strong. We all know he is not injured coming in the fight because why will he accept the fight? It’s excuses. I controlled the momentum of the fight, he was just surviving. You can’t win with just a few punches in a round. He got hurt, I punched him hard and I see him get hurt,” remembered Magsayo.
“I was young still in that fight, but I proved that I am a champion. It’s my dream come true. I was very happy and grateful. It was a big thing for me and my family.”
Rey Vargas SD12 Mark Magsayo
July 9, 2022: San Antonio, Texas
There wasn’t much time for Magsayo to have a honeymoon as belt holder. Just moments after his hand was raised as the new titlist, he was informed by the WBC that he would have to face Vargas, a former WBC junior featherweight titleholder, in his first defense, breaking with the convention of a mandatory challenger getting an optional defense after winning the belt. Magsayo had been more interested in pursuing a unification fight with WBA belt holder Leo Santa Cruz instead.
“Right after I went down from the ring from the [Russell] fight that night, they ordered it, not even giving me time and an option like the other champions. But I’m not a pussy like the others, and I said, ‘I will fight anybody they put in front of me, I want to be great,’” said Magsayo.
From the outset, it was a contrast of styles with the 5ft 10ins Vargas trying to land jabs and counters from the outside and Magsayo exploding in with flashier overhand rights and hooks. Despite Magsayo landing eye-catching rights, Vargas took them well and did surprisingly good work to the body despite being the taller man. Magsayo scored the fight’s only knockdown in the ninth on a short right hand counter as Vargas tried to land his own uppercut. Magsayo felt he should have been given more credit on the cards.
“I dropped him two times, and they just counted one time,” Magsayo said. “I definitely won that fight. But the judges thought otherwise, I don’t know why. I’m the champ, and he didn’t beat me decisively, I beat him up. I felt devastated; it was my first defeat. But I also thought, that’s my weight class for 10 years – I became a world champion at 126 – and I have many more weight classes to move up to. Maybe it’s a sign.
“I was hurt, of course, but this is what champions do. I got back to the gym and thought of everything with my team, all the changes I needed to make and adjustments. I won’t give up because of one defeat. I was not even knocked out or hurt. That’s not me. I was born for this.”
Brandon Figueroa UD12 Mark Magsayo
March 4, 2023: Ontario, California
After the Vargas fight, Magsayo and team had made up their minds that his time at featherweight was over. He had been fighting in the division since turning pro a decade earlier as a 17-year-old and it was time to conquer a new class. At least, that was the plan before Magsayo got the opportunity to fight Figueroa for the interim WBC title. Magsayo accepted the fight, which, if he won, would clear his path to a rematch with Vargas. Just getting to the fight was hard enough, as Magsayo missed the weight on his first attempt, coming in three-quarters of a pound over the limit. Magsayo came back to the scale with just seconds to spare before the two-hour window to re-weigh elapsed, and narrowly made the limit, drawing huge applause from his supporters inside the hotel conference room where the weigh-in took place.
“Fans wanted the fight, so I took it. I shouldn’t have,” Magsayo said. “Not the hardest fight, but the hardest weight cut for me. Just .2lbs was even so hard for me to lose, but I still did it. The night before the fight, I was already cramping, but I’m not gonna pull out from any fight because of that.”
Despite his issues making weight, it was Magsayo early on who looked the fresher of the two fighters, stunning Figueroa in the second with an uppercut and keeping him busy with flashy combinations as Figueroa pressed in. Figueroa, who had been a titleholder a division below, maintained a deceptively good defensive shell and pressed forward, making Magsayo work while touching his depleted body with both hands.
Figueroa began to assert himself more in the middle rounds as his pressure and combination punching became more difficult to keep up with. Magsayo still landed flashy counterpunches which were easy to see, but it was the activity from Figueroa that got the attention of the judges. Magsayo still had his moments, including an 11-punch combination of hooks to the body and head in the eighth that became the highlight of the fight. But he lost points in the eighth and eleventh rounds for holding, compounding an issue that included the judges scoring almost all of the final two thirds of the fight for Figueroa.
“The combinations, me and coach Marvin practiced that a lot in the gym, and that’s my style. I want to give the fans something exciting and something they can watch over and over again, and replay,” said Magsayo.
“I was dominating the first few rounds, using my legs, but in Round 5 the cramps came in again. Then I got deducted two times, even if we were both doing it [holding]. If I was not dehydrated, it would’ve been a different outcome. But no excuses, it’s on me. It taught me and my team a lot, even with the fights that I take now and my weight class, especially. I need to be healthy – that’s the most important thing for us right now, so I can perform and be at my best, show my real style and my combinations.”
