"MAYBE I CAN BE LIKE’ MANNY PACQUIAO"

As a child growing up in the small coastal town of Dauis, in the Philippine province of Bohol, Mark Magsayo worked in the family’s bakery. 

Born in June 1995, five months after eight-division champion Manny Pacquiao’s professional debut, an eight-year-old Magsayo entered a local gymnasium while selling ice cream on the streets of Tagbilaran City.

In November 2003, Magsayo watched Pacquiao rise from a first-round knockdown to floor  Marco Antonio Barrera in the third of an 11th-round TKO victory.

“I got inspired seeing Manny Pacquiao’s fight with Marco Antonio Barrera. I thought, ‘Maybe I can be like him,’” said Magsayo. “I wanted to help my family out of poverty like Manny did with his, and I wanted to bring honor to my country as well.”

An inspired Magsayo turned up his amateur fighting intensity, earning $4.00 per bout “to buy food for my family.”

Over the course of 200 fights, Magsayo emerged as a National Champion four times over various divisions at the annual Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) tournament.

“I learned a lot from those amateur experiences fighting Filipino kids who were from poor families like me. That’s why at a young age, those kids worked hard jobs like me,” said Magsayo, who twice earned the title of the event’s “Best Boxer.” 

“I was already used to being pushed to my limits when it comes to hard work and training, but overall that instilled in me the fact that if you have a dream, you should go after it and never stop until you make it come true.”

A 17-year-old “Magnifico’s” professional debut was a two-knockdown, first-round stoppage in May 2013 of Nelson Sandal. Magsayo got off to a hot start. He went 5-0 in 2014, stopping four of his opponents. 

All three opponents in 2015 were floored twice each and knocked out by Magsayo, with Sukpraserd Ponpitak (February) and Rafael Reyes (July) falling by fifth-round TKOs and Yardley Armenta Cruz (October) by first-round knockout. 

Magsayo was 12-0 (10 KOs), having competed at weights ranging from 122-to-128 pounds. He earned the IBF’s Youth World Featherweight title in the victory over Reyes and defended it against Cruz in his U.S. debut at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California.

PACQUIAO: "MAGSAYO REMINDS ME OF MYSELF"

There were more challenges in 2016 as Magsayo went 3-0, sandwiching 10- and 12-round unanimous decisions over Eduardo Montoya (February) and Jose Robles Olvera (September) around a slugfest of a sixth-round TKO of former title challenger Chris Avalos (April).

Magsayo floored Montoya in the seventh round en route to becoming the WBO’s Youth Featherweight Champion, rose from a third-round knockdown to defeat Avalos for the WBO’s vacant International Featherweight crown, and twice dropped Olvera during a near shutout win in defense of that belt at the Stub Hub Center in Carson, California.

In 2017, Magsayo’s consecutive first-round knockouts of Issa Nampepeche (April) and Daniel Diaz (August) preceded a 12-round unanimous decision over Shota Hayashi (November). 

Magsayo floored Nampepeche twice in a non-title bout. He floored Diaz three times in defense of the WBO’s International Featherweight crown, and made his third title defense against Hayashi.

Magsayo won twice in 2019, his one-knockdown, fourth-round stoppage of Erick Deztroyer in April preceding a 12-round unanimous decision over Panya Uthok in August for the WBC’s Asian Featherweight crown. 

“Whether it’s boxing or brawling, I’ll do whatever it takes to win,” said Magsayo. “I know I have a lot to learn, but I will always do my best to impress my fans.”

In 2020, the aforementioned Pacquiao signed Magsayo to his MP Promotions outfit, saying that the young Filipino “reminds me of myself.” In October 2020, Magsayo overcame his toughest test to date, winning a 10-round split-decision over tough southpaw Rigoberto Hermosillo.

Coming off a 13-month ring absence, the explosive Magsayo fired punches from all angles, opening a cut over Hermosillo’s right eye in the first round of their clash at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. 

“[Magsayo] is one of the best punchers in the gym and knocks people down all of the time,” said Magsayo’s Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who also trained Pacquiao. “But he wasn’t letting his hands go. I kept urging him to throw more combinations and use more power.”

“Every fight is like my big break,” said Magsayo, who was fighting on American soil for the third time in his career. “My mindset is that, I’m going to overcome whatever it is that I have to and win the fight.”

THE RISE CONTINUES

Magsayo won his fourth and fifth bouts on American soil in 2021, scoring a pair of sensational knockouts via three-knockdown, fourth-round TKO over Pablo Cruz in April and rising from a fifth-round knockdown for a come-from-behind 10th-round stoppage of former champion Julio Ceja in August.

Cruz attempted to rise from the third knockdown before the referee determined he had absorbed too much punishment and waved an end to the bout.

Ceja was floored by a perfect left hook from Magsayo in the first round and dropped Magsayo with the same punch in the fifth before being knocked cold by a straight right in the 10th.

“I kept working it round after round and when I saw he was hurt, I followed up. I expected his style to make it happen and I expected a knockout tonight,” said Magsayo, who trailed, 86-83, on two cards, and 87-82, on the third before the end.

“Whether I get knocked down, cut or headbutted, if I can see my opponent, he’s in trouble. I got knocked down and was surprised, but I focused my mind on what I wanted, a world championship shot. It’s my dream.”

BECOMING A WORLD CHAMPION

Magsayo was now the mandatory challenger to WBC World Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Russell Jr. (31-1, 18 KOs), the longest reigning male boxing champion in the sport. The two met on January 22, 2022, in the PBC on SHOWTIME main event from Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J. 

When it was all over, Magsayo’s dream had come true as he defeated Russell by 12-round majority decision to become the new WBC World Featherweight Champion. 

“This is my dream come true,” said Magsayo. “Ever since I was a kid, this was my dream. I’m so proud that I’m a champion now. Thank you so much to the Filipino fans for the support.”

Magsayo was able to use his size advantage to lean on Russell throughout the fight and benefited from an apparent injury to Russell’s right shoulder that became discernable in round four.

“I knew that he was hurt in round four,” said Magsayo. “I took advantage of it because he was only using one hand. This was my opportunity to follow through. My coach was telling me to use good combinations and follow through. He said this is your chance to become a champion and now I am a champion.”

Russell appeared to injure the shoulder throwing a short right hand and immediately winced in pain and retreated from the action. Russell was able to re-adjust his game plan and had success focusing solely on variations of his left hand. He slowed down the action and landed a number of clean shots to keep Magsayo at bay in a display of ring generalship, but it wasn’t enough to win over the judges.  

Magsayo landed 41% of his power shots in the contest, a significant improvement from the 28% clip that Russell’s previous eight opponents had connected on, according to CompuBox. Russell was limited to just 64 jabs thrown and was out-landed 150 to 69.

Magsayo continued to put the pressure on in the later rounds and was able to ride that activity to victory, including an attack that nearly dropped Russell late in round 10, thrilling the Filipino fans in attendance.

At the end of the 12 rounds, Magsayo edged out the decision on the judges’ cards with a 114-114 score overruled by two judges seeing the bout 115-113 for Magsayo. 

“It’s up to my promotional team,” said Magsayo when asked about a potential rematch. “But I’m willing to fight anybody. I’m the champion now!”

Magsayo would lose his next two fights although he performed admirably in both. On July 9, 2022, he would lose his title by split decision to Rey Vargas and then on March 4, 2023, he suffered a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Brandon Figueroa. 

A Rough Sequence