SOME nine years after he turned pro and after a slew of managerial and promotional issues, Tagbilaran City native Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo will finally see action in a world title fight this Sunday (Manila time) when he faces World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight (126 lbs.) champion Gary Russell Jr. of the United States.
Magsayo, 23-0 with 16 knockouts, was a prospect from the outset, posting scorching knockout victories when he was with the now-defunct ALA Boxing Promotions. A rift with ALA patriarch Antonio Aldeguer left Magsayo inactive in 2018 and he was literally drifting into oblivion when his career was salvaged by Manny Pacquiao’s MP Promotions in 2020.
Magsayo turned in a shaky debut for MP Promotions in October 2020, barely dodging defeat in a 10-round split decision win over Mexican Rigoberto Hermosillo.
Last August 21, in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas fight in Las Vegas, Magsayo burst into the consciousness of international fight fans when he posted a thrilling, come-from-behind knockout victory over former world title contender Julio Ceja of Mexico.
Floored in the fifth round and trailing in all three scorecards, Magsayo landed a vicious right hand in the tenth round that sent Ceja to dreamland.
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The victory over Ceja made Magsayo the mandatory contender for the WBC featherweight title.
Defending champ Russell, 31-1 with 18 knockouts, is the longest reigning champ among the current batch of titleholders. He won the title in March 2015, when he stopped Mexican Jhonny Gonzalez.
However, Russell has fought only five times in the last seven years. He last saw action in February 2020 and will be coming off a career-long 23 months of inactivity for the Magsayo fight.
The eldest of six brothers, Russell was born in Washington, D.C. where he was introduced to boxing in a makeshift gym by his father Russell Sr., a former amateur boxer. Russell’s family relocated to Maryland when he was about 13 years old and it was around this time when a young Gary started taking part in amateur tournaments.
Russell made it to the 2008 Olympic team but inexplicably collapsed during the weigh-in at the Olympic Village. Giving up his Olympic dream, Russell turned pro in 2009.
Russell initially fought for the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight title in June 2014, dropping a majority decision to Ukraine’s Vasyl Lomachenko. Russell rebounded from the loss by collaring the WBC’s version of the title a year later.
Russell, 31, is a southpaw blessed with exceptionally fast hands. When he is in a groove, he can dominate a fight with his above-par boxing skills and ring generalship.
Russell, though, is entering the Magsayo fight with a lot of emotional baggage.
Russell’s brother Gary Boosa died of a heart attack in 2020 while his father recently had a foot amputated because of complications brought about by diabetes.
Russell claims he has been basically training himself, with assistance from his brothers, for the Magsayo fight. But he insists he is ready for the fight and draws motivation from his six children.
Russell is the smart money bet to prevail owing to his skillset and the quality of the opponents he has faced.
Then again, it is Magsayo who brings in the firepower.
Magsayo has been training like a monk under the watchful eyes of veteran trainer Freddie Roach. Noting the conditioning issues Magsayo encountered in the Hermosillo and Ceja fights, Roach has since incorporated roadwork into Magsayo’s regimen. Magsayo credits Roach for teaching him how to be patient instead of just going gung-ho on offense.
Magsayo, 26, knows fully well that a victory over Russell will completely change his life. History also looms as Magsayo aims to become only the second Filipino WBC featherweight champ since Luisito Espinosa in 1995.
Pacquiao also earned recognition as lineal featherweight champ in 2003 when he stopped Marco Antonio Barrera. Barrera was recognized as “lineal” champ following his 2001 win over Naseem Hamed in a fight that should have been for the WBC/WBO titles had Hamed not been stripped of the titles due to issues with the organizations. Thus, when Barrera faced Pacquiao, the Mexican was regarded as the lineal featherweight champ.
Pacquiao fought for the real featherweight belts (World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation) in May 2004 but was held to a controversial draw by Juan Manuel Marquez.
Magsayo is looking to join Espinosa and Pacquiao in the list of Filipino world featherweight champs. It will not be easy given the skillset of Russell but it cannot be denied that Magsayo has the punching power that can drastically alter pre-fight odds when the bell rings.
“He says he’s the fastest fighter in the world, but I’m fast, too. He thinks I’m too slow for him. That’s good. He will be surprised,” quipped Magsayo.
