By Mike Coppinger
Junior lightweight Diego Magdaleno (20-0, 7 KOs) is climbing the ranks, currently recognized as the No. 9 fighter by Ring Magazine. The 24-year-old southpaw is coming off a victory over Alejandro Perez on ShoBox in July, a fight in which he had to rise off the canvas in the opening stanza.
He showed a lot of resolve in that bout, displaying his Mexican spirit, and big things are expected of him.
“He’s really come into his own in the last year, he’s got some quality wins,” said Top Rank VP Carl Moretti. “He’s knocking some people out, he’s making good fights. He’ll fight the night before [Pacquiao-Marquez 3] in Vegas on November 11th.
“Hopefully he gets a bigger fight next year, but he’s on a good roll right now.”
Mike Coppinger is a regular boxing freelancer for USA TODAY and Ring Magazine. He’s a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, the Ring Ratings Advisory Panel and the Yahoo! Sports Boxing Panel. Follow him on Twitter: @MikeCoppinger.