Heading into his fight last night against Salinas, California’s Alejandro Perez, local junior lightweight contender Diego Magdaleno had been on quite a mean streak, scoring four straight one-sided TKO victories against decent but limited opposition in raising his profile in the sport. But for all the momentum the 24-year old had going for him, you figured something had to give against the stubborn and aggressive Perez, who proved to be more than a stern test for Magdaleno inside of the Texas Station Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This fact was proved very early when a looping right hand from Perez had Magdaleno tasting canvas within the first minute of the fight. Magdaleno didn?t appear to be hurt and shook the knockdown off, instead returning fire and attempting to do his best to steal the rest of the stanza in a fight that was fought at a brisk pace with each man absorbing their share of punches.
<--- Slideshow: Diego Magdaleno pulls out a tough victory over Alejandro Perez in Las Vegas
Slowly but surely Magdaleno began turning the fight in his favor and the fight became even on the scorecards after two rounds when Perez was docked a point by referee Robert Byrd for repeatedly hitting below the waist. As the fight progressed Magdaleno appeared to capture most of the rounds by simply pressing the action and landing at a higher rate than the dogged Perez, who was in his face all night.
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A nasty gash opened up over the right eye of Perez in the fourth but he shook it off and kept coming. In the fifth Magdaleno appeared to stun Perez in the first minute of the frame but couldn?t put enough punches together afterwards to do any real damage.
The two fighters traded serious leather in the tenth and final round as Perez did his best to break an onrushing Magdaleno down to the body as he was pinned and swarmed against the ropes. The fight could be summed up best as Magdaleno overcoming a shaky opening minute on his way to settling down and doing just enough in nearly each round after to establish himself as the superior fighter.
It wasn?t a standout performance for Magdaleno, who does see his record rise to 19-0 with 7 knockouts. Perez drops to 15-3-1 with 10 knockouts but should still hold his head high after a spirited effort that will surely keep his name in the mix for future contests at or near 130 pounds.
For a picture by picture look at all the action, including undercard showcases by Jesse Magdaleno, local prospect Anthony Lenk, Top Rank heavyweight Andy Ruiz, and others please visit the slideshow on the left?
