Former featherweight titleholder Mark Magsayo notched his fifth straight victory, stopping Feargal McCrory in the fifth round of their lightweight co-feature at the Meta Apex in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The win meant Magsayo would move forward with a presumed match against whomever came out on top in Sunday evening’s Zuffa Boxing 05 main event featuring Andres Cortes vs. Eridson Garcia.
The difference in class was evident from the outset. Magsayo scored with a big right hand about 45 seconds in and controlled the first round, capping it with a right to the body followed by a right to the head as the session came to a close.
That gulf in talent didn’t stop McCrory from applying pressure, though the pressure didn’t seem to bother Magsayo. Boxing on the back foot in the second round, Magsayo sent out three straight hooks at one point, a right hand lead at another. Magsayo capably blocked or dodged most of McCrory’s attacks in the third. And he again caught McCrory with a solid right hand upstairs at the halfway point.
In the fourth, Magsayo let loose with a four-punch combination in which each of those shots landed. He walked McCrory into a left hook that slammed into his midsection. And with 35 seconds to go, a Magsayo right hand sent McCrory stumbling backward. McCrory tried to stand his ground and trade, but he took more clean punches in the process.
McCrory’s trainer warned him after the fourth round that he’d stop the match if the fighter continued to get caught with big shots. Magsayo helped them make that decision with early success in the fifth. McCrory’s corner stepped onto the canvas 21 seconds into the round. McCrory screamed in frustration, but it was the right decision to save him from further damage.
Magsayo, now 29-2 (19 KOs), won the WBC belt at 126lbs from Gary Russell Jnr in 2022. He lost in his first defense about five and a half months later, dropping a split decision to Rey Vargas. Magsayo then lost again in his next outing, unanimously outpointed by Brandon Figueroa in 2023.
Magsayo subsequently moved up in weight, competing at both junior lightweight and lightweight.
“Big difference,” Magsayo, a 30-year-old from the Philippines, said after the victory. “The weight, the training camp, the sparring, everything. I’m strong, I’m powerful in this division.”
McCrory, a 33-year-old from Ireland, is now 17-2 (9 KOs). This is his second loss in his past three fights. He was stopped in the eighth round of a junior lightweight title fight against Lamont Roach Jnr in June 2024.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
