By Ryan Burton
Former WBO super bantamweight champion Jessie Magdaleno (25-1) recently told BoxingScene.com that he would return to the ring in February.
TheTop Rank promoted southpaw captured his world title with an upset victory over former multi-division and current bantamweight world champion Nonito Donaire in 2016. He would defend the title once before being stopped by Isaac Dogboe this past April.
Now that he is making the move to the featherweight, a whole new list of potential opponents may become available to the Las Vegas native.
One potential opponent could be Oscar Valdez. The two fighters are both managed by Frank Espinoza and trained for years under Manny Robles. Now both men have moved on to different trainers and Magdaleno said that he is open to a showdown with the WBO featherweight champion.
"I think down the road it is a possible fight. There are a lot of fights at 126 that I would like but first things first. I need to fight at 126 and get the feel of it and take it from there," Magdaleno told BoxingScene.com.
The 27-year-old has spent his entire career at 122 pounds. He believes that the move up in weight is long overdue and said that the fans can expect to see a much more explosive version of himself now that he doesn't have to drop those last few pounds.
"A lot of times we get in a weight class and think we will be there forever but it caught up with me. I will feel a lot better and be a lot bigger and stronger at 126. It was time to make the move up in weight," said Magdaleno.
Magdaleno hopes to fight for another world title in the near future but plans on taking his time to get there. He said that he would like to get accustomed to the weight class first and then try to become a two-division champion.
"I think I need two fights, maybe three. Maybe by the end of next year I will fight for a world title. I don't miss a beat. I will be right there once I get in there and I will be ready to go," Magdaleno explained.
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