By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBC Featherweight Champion Mark Magsayo of the Philippines defends his title for the first time when he takes on undefeated former WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Rey Vargas of Mexico this Saturday, July 9th. The 12-round bout can be seen live in the USA on Showtime from San Antonio, Texas while fans in Canada can catch the action on TSN 5. Magsayo won the title the last time out in January when he edged Gary Russell Jr by majority decision. Vargas last boxed in November when he beat Leonardo Baez via a 10-round unanimous decision.
The 27-year-old Magsayo carries around a perfect mark of 24-0 with 16 Kos and has boxed 131 rounds since making his pro debut in 2013. He has better-than-average power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 66.7 per cent. Magsayo stands 5-feet-6-inches tall with a wingspan of 68 inches and is an exciting fighter thanks to his aggressive style and his power. His biggest wins so far have been over Russel, Julio Ceja, Yardley Cruz, Chris Avalos and Pablo Cruz.
Magsayo has been dropped a few times as a pro though, so he may not have the best of chins. However, that’s also part of what makes Magsayo such a fan-friendly boxer. Since turning pro he’s also captured the IBF Youth Featherweight Title in 2015, the WBO Youth Featherweight Title in 2016, the WBO International Featherweight Title in 2016 and the WBC Asian Boxing Council Featherweight Belt. He also had a successful amateur career by earning gold medals at the 2010 Mayor Jonas Cortes Cup, the 2012 Bantamweight (Junior Division) at the PLDT-ABAP National Boxing Championships.
The 31-year-old Vargas of Mexico City will climb into the ring with a perfect record of 35-0 with 22 Kos. He gave up his world title due to a broken leg after successfully defending it five times. He won the vacant belt in February, 2017 via majority decision over Gavin McDonnell and defended it against Ronny Rios, Oscar Negrete, Azat Hovhannisyan, Franklin Manzanilla and Tomoki Kameda. He also has wins over former world title challengers Juanito Rubillar and Cecilio Santos.
Vargas stands just over 5-feet-10-inches tall and has a reach of 70.5 inches which gives him a 4.5-inch height and 2.5-inch reach advantage over Magsayo. He’s fought 210 rounds since turning pro in 2010 and also has good power with a current knockout ratio of 62.9 per cent. However, he’s gone the distance in seven straight fights with his last stoppage coming in the fifth round over Alexander Munoz in September, 2016.
The former champ is a solid pro with a good chin and skills but hasn’t been particularly impressive in the past few bouts. He enjoyed a fine amateur career and has also won the IBF Youth, WBC Youth Intercontinental, and WBC Youth Silver Super Bantamweight Titles since turning pro as well as the WBC International Silver Super Bantamweight Crown.
Prediction…
Magsayo is an exciting prospect with plenty of power, but at this point in his career he’s got a questionable chin. However, Vargas’ power hasn’t been evident lately as he’s gone seven straight fights without a stoppage since September, 2016. Vargas has the size advantage though so Magsayo’s going to need to work his way inside. This fight may come down to power and chins and at the moment it seems Magsayo has the power advantage while Vargas has a better chin. The oddsmakers have this as a pretty even fight. Magsayo’s stoppages usually come due to several hard blows rather than a single shot and he’s going to need to land something significant to beat Vargas. It should be close but I’m expecting Magsayo to retain his belt.
