Magsayo Wins Featherweight Title with Decision over Russell Jr.
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ-Mark Magsayo wrestled the WBC Featherweight title with a 12-round majority decision over long-reigning champion Gary Russell Jr. at The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa.
Magsayo started off well by going to the body in an effort to slow down Russell. Seconds into round four, Russell seemed to hurt his right shoulder. That seemed to affect him as he did not use his right hand much for the remainder of the fight. Magsayo continued applying pressure and landing with both hands. Russell was able to win some rounds by landing some sharp lead lefts.
Magsayo boxed with ease with Russell using his speed and the occasional quick left. He was outworked by the challenger who fought like the title was in his grasp.
Magsayo landed 150 of 543 punches; Russell was 69 of 323.
It was as Magsayo won by scores of 115-113 twice and 114-114.
Magsayo, 125.5 lbs of The Philippines is 24-0. Russell, 125.5 lbs of Capitol Heights, Maryland is 31-2.
“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.”
“I believe I have a torn tendon in my right shoulder,” said Russell. “I haven’t competed in almost two years. This is what true champions do. I wanted to step into the ring and display my superiority regardless of the injury. “I hurt the shoulder about two weeks ago,” continued Russell. “But I went through with the fight because I’m a true champion and this is what warriors do. I’m going to fight regardless of what the situation is. I refuse to not compete and display my skillsets to my fans and the people that came out to show support and love. Please believe that I will be back. I still want these fights.”
“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.”
“I believed in my skillset and what I bring into the ring,” said Russell. “I felt like I still won the fight to be honest. Hell yeah I want a rematch. Would he want a rematch? That’s the question.” “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!”
Matias Stops Ananyan in Rematch War
Subriel Matias stopped Petros Ananyan in a grueling war after round nine of a scheduled 12-round junior welterweight rematch
The two stood about four inches from each other throughout the fight. Ananyan was cut over his right eye as early as round two. That did not deter Ananyan as every time he ate big combination from Matias, he would fire back with hard combinations of his own, He fought back valiantly and got himself back in the fight.
In round seven, Matias was deducted a point for low blows. That seemed to light a new fire under Matias as he started landing more power shots, and in round nine, landed a huge left that spun Ananyan to the canvas. Ananyan took a lot of punches and the fight was stopped in the corner by the ringside doctor after the round.
Matias, 140.5 lbs of Fajrado, PR is now 18-1 with 18 knockouts. Ananyan, 141 lbs of Armenia is 16-3-2.
“This is the fight that I wanted,” said Matias, who was jubilant in victory following the fast-paced affair. “Ever since my defeat to him, I wanted to avenge the loss. When you’re sure about yourself and you know that you have the skills that you have, you take the rematch.”
“I’m not just a hard-hitter but the way that I fight is like cutting down a tree,” said Matias. “Just keep hitting them. I think I can improve my power but let’s see what happens with time. I want to thank everybody who made this fight possible, but I’m going to take my time before deciding who I will fight next.”
Nyambayar and Lukas Fight to a draw
-Former world title challenger Tugstsogt Nyambayar and late-replacement Sakaria Lukas fought to a 10-round draw in a junior lightweight bout.
Lukas seemed to have knocked Nyambayar in round eight, but referee Eddie Claudio ruled it a slip.
Nyambayar landed 125 of 417 punches; Lukas was 111 of 479.
Each fighter took a card 96-94 and a third card was even at 95-95.
Nyambayar, 128 lbs is now 12-2-1. Lukas, 127.5 lbs of Namibia is 25-1-1.
“What I saw in real time, he fell down not from the impact of the blow but from his body language, he just slipped. His feet went and he slipped,” said Claudio post fight to ringside reporter Jim Gray.
“I thought I won the fight and I didn’t believe it was a knockdown,” said Nyambayar. “It was a hard fight, especially against an opponent on short notice. My goal is to fight for the world title again.” “Everyone saw it was a knockdown that should have given me a split-decision win,” said Lukas, who endured a 27-hour flight to the U.S. for the bout from his native Namibia. “I fought my heart out and I deserved the win. I took the fight on short notice, but I was ready to win. I believe I won the fight, but I can’t do anything about the decision. We had the fans behind us, they know what happened.”
IN-NON-TELEVISED ACTION
Abimael Ortiz pounded out an eight-round unanimous decision over Ryan Allen in a super bantamweight contest.
In round two, Ortiz dropped Allen with a left-right combination.
Ortiz, 123 lbs of Coyey, PR won by scores of 76-75 on all cards and is now 10-1-1. Allen, 122 lbs of Jackson, MI is 10-6-1.
Leshawn Rodriguez destroyed Sixto Suazo inside of a round in their scheduled six-round middleweight bout.
Rodriguez battered Suazo as he landed several flush shots that snapped the head of Suazo and the fight was stopped at 1:36.
Rodriguez, 156.1 lbs of Coram, NY is 13-0 with 10 knockouts. Suazo, 156.3 lbs of Atlanta, GA is 9-3-1.
Evan Holyfield remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Chris Rollins in a super welterweight fight.
Holyfield, 151,5 lbs of Atlanta, GA won by scores of 60-54 twice and 59-55 and is now 9-0. Rollins, 151.5 lbs of Charlottsville, VA is 5-4-1.
In a battle of undefeated featherweights, Katsuma Akitsugi won a six-round unanimous decision over Rasheen Brown.
Akitsugi, 123.5 lbs of Japan won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 to raise his record to 8-0. Brown, 124 lbs of Philadelphia is 11-1.
Max Garland stopped Marik Black in the 2nd round of their four-round wheelwright bout.
Garland beat up Black until the fight was stopped at 1:44 of round two.
Garland of Washington, DC was making his pro debut. Black of Versailles, KY is 1-1-1.
