MANILA – Mark Magsayo scored a 10th round stoppage win over Mexican Julio Ceja in their World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight championship match on Saturday (Sunday in the Philippines) at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
With less than a minute remaining in the 10th round, Magsayo unloaded a right punch straight to Ceja’s face, followed by another short right hit, to send his opponent to the canvas for good.
Magsayo, who was born in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, will now face WBC world featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. of the United States.
Prior to that, Magsayo knocked Ceja out in the first round before the Mexican connected with body shots in the subsequent rounds. Ceja sent Magsayo to the canvas with a solid right body hit and an uppercut in the fifth frame. In the subsequent round, the Filipino clawed his way back by going toe-to-toe with the Mexican.
The 26-year-old Magsayo improved his record to 23-0-0 with 15 knockout victories, while the 28-year-old Ceja’s record fell to 32-5-1 with 28 stoppage victories.
In the undercard, Filipino boxer John Leo Dato was defeated by Angel Antonio Contreras of Mexico via unanimous decision.
Dato, a native of Bangar, La Union, dominated the first two rounds with volume punches on Contreras until the Filipino was knocked out in the third round by a right uppercut from the Mexican.
It was all Contreras since then as he pummelled Dato with multiple combinations while the Filipino’s responses were limited en route to a unanimous decision win by the Mexican.
Dato’s record dropped to 14-1-1 win-loss-draw, with nine stoppage victories, while Contreras improved to 11-4-2, with six stoppage victories./PN
