By Ian S Palmer
Former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Jessie Magdaleno of Las Vegas will be back in the ring this Thursday, June 11th when he meets Yenifel Vicente of the Dominican Republic at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. The 10-round junior lightweight bout can be seen live in the USA on ESPN and on TSN 1,3 and 4 in Canada. Magdaleno last fought in August when he beat Rafael Rivera via a ninth-round technical decision to retain his WBC United States USNBC Featherweight Title. Vicente last boxed in October when he stopped Rodolfo Hernandez Montoya in the fourth round.
The 28-year-old Magdaleno is a southpaw who won the WBO Super Bantamweight title in November, 2016 when he beat Nonito Donaire by an impressive unanimous decision. He defended the crown against Adeilson Dos Santos by second round knockout five months later and then lost the title to Dogboe in an exciting contest in which he was stopped in the 11th round. Magdaleno is 27-1 with 18 Kos and has 131 rounds under his belt since turning pro in 2010.
Magdaleno has also beaten the likes of Rico Ramos, Adeilson Dos Santos, Erik Ruiz, Roberto Castaneda, Luis Maldonado and Raul Hidalgo with Donaire definitely being the best of the bunch.
Magdaleno stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 66-inch reach. He’s also got good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 64.3 per cent.
He also possesses impressive boxing skills and enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported record of 120-16. Magdaleno was a Golden Gloves and National champion back in 2009 and learned lot in the amateur ranks. He has handled the pro game well up to now due to his power and overall ring generalship despite his defeat at the hands of Dogboe.
Vicente is a 33-year-old veteran who most fans have never heard of and owns a record of 36-4-2 with 28 Kos. He turned pro back in 2006 and has 172 rounds of experience to his name. He now resides in Miami, Florida and has pretty good power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 65.1 per cent. He stands 5-feet-5-inches tall with a 66-inch reach which gives him an inch edge in height on Magdaleno.
The two draws on Vicente’s record came in his second and third pro outings with one being a four-round affair and the other a six-rounder. He’s been beaten by Chris Avalos via a 10-round unanimous decision in 2012, an eight-round majority decision to Juan Antonio Rodriguez in 2014, then a 10-round unanimous decision to Eric Hunter in his very next fight for the vacant USBA Featherweight Title. His last loss was to Tramaine Williams by 10-round unanimous decision last July.
The defeat to Williams was for the vacant WBO NABO Super Bantamweight Title and the vacant USBA Super Bantamweight Crown. Vicente didn’t lose until his 27th pro bout but did have a no-contest in there against Luis Zambrano in 2011. Since turning pro, Vicente has captured the vacant WBA Fedelatin, vacant WBC Fecarbox, vacant UBF (Universal Boxing Federation), and WBO Latino Super Bantamweight titles.
Vicente has a very good chin as he’s never been stopped in 42 pro bouts. However, he hasn’t really fought top opposition over the years with his wins being against the likes of Albert Gonzalez, Victor Proa, Andres Guzman, Walberto Ramos, Juan Dominguez, Jorge Diaz, Jonathan Perez and Francisco Lorenzo.
Prediction…
Magdaleno has a lot of heart, speed and skills but can’t underestimate Vicente due to his power and chin. Vicente’s a solid, veteran pro and former national champion who can give anybody a problem and this might be a relatively close fight. Vicente can be a little wild and doesn’t own the quickest hands. And since Magdaleno’s a world class boxer he should be able to pull out a win on Thursday night.
