By Jake Donovan, photos by Chris Farina/Top Rank

Diego Magdaleno is well aware of what he's walking into when he faces unbeaten lightweight champ Terry Flanagan. The pair of southpaws collide October 10 in Flanagan's hometown of Manchester, England.

It marks the second straight true home game for the 26-year old Mancunian, who won his first world title with a 2nd round injury stoppage over previously unbeaten Jose Zepeda this past June in Manchester.

The bout hardly lasted long enough to properly gauge where Flanagan belongs among the lightweight elite. For now, Magdaleno knows he has a fight on his hands—and a capacity crowd against him—but is confident that between his own abilities and his rock solid team will come victory.

[=img:32640::=]

"He's a solid fighter. He's a standup guy," Magdaleno readily admits of his upcoming opponent. "He can fight, he can punch. But I honestly don't believe it's enough for him to beat me.

"This is going to be a great fight, I believe. Terry has everything in his favor. As far as critiquing him, I lead that up to my coach (head trainer Joel Diaz). He's already begun analyzing him."

Magdaleno (28-1, 12KOs) comes in riding a five-fight win streak since the lone loss of his career, a hard-fought 12-round decision to Roman Martinez in their April '13 super featherweight title fight in Macau, China.

While coming up short, the squat southpaw proved his worth on the title stage. He's additionally done so in fighting his way to the mandatory position against a fighter whom he believes still remains a mystery given the manner in which Flanagan claimed the title.

"It was a short fight," Magdaleno notes of Flanagan's anti-climactic win over Zepeda. "There wasn't too much to be said there. He has a lot to prove to his hometown crowd. That title was just basically given to him.

"Nothing has been given to me. I have to go out there and earn it and prove myself and know that's what it will take to win (in England)."

[=img:32642::=]

[=img:32639::=]

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com.
Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
Facebook Page: JakeBScene

Photos: Diego Magdaleno Putting in Work For Flanagan

Flanagan Magdaleno

Photos: Diego Magdaleno Putting in Work For Flanagan