ALA errs on the side of caution with Mark Magsayo

MANILA, Philippines – After winning his biggest fight to date a year ago, Mark Magsayo had thought he would be stepping forward – not backward – in competition.

In front of thousands at an outdoor complex in Cebu City, Magsayo survived a third round knockdown and nearly finished off before he fought his way back to stop former world title challenger Chris Avalos in the sixth round of a Fight of the Year caliber bout. 

His opponent for his fight this Saturday, Issa Nampepeche of Tanzania, doesn’t have the name equity that his American foe had, and Magsayo expects him to be another win to pad his record.

“I think it’s going to be easy fight for me but I can’t be overconfident,” Magsayo (15-0, 11 knockouts) says of Nampepeche (24-7-4, 11 KOs), whom he’ll face on the Pinoy Pride 40 card at the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu City, Philippines. The fight will be scheduled for 10 rounds instead of the 12-round limit of his previous two fights.

Nampepeche, a year older than Magsayo at 22, has 20 more professional fights than the Boholano fighter, but has not won in 3 previous fights outside of his home country, and is coming off a loss in his last fight, a 6-rounder in Tanzania. Nampepeche is a switch-hitting righty with a tight defensive guard but limited offensive output.

Magsayo has made no secrets about wanting to follow the footsteps of Manny Pacquiao, who had won and lost a world title by the time he was Magsayo’s age, or wanting to fight Oscar Valdez, an unbeaten champion who holds the featherweight title of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), the sanctioning body whose title Magsayo once tattooed on his left arm but has since covered up.

ALA Promotions, the company which guides Magsayo’s career, doesn’t share the same sense of urgency as Magsayo.

“We took the risk with Avalos, some people thought we might be foolish,” says ALA president Michael Aldeguer. He says the fight showed Magsayo’s “explosive” two-fisted fighting style, but also that “he’s reckless, he has no defense.”

“There’s no point in rushing him, he has a lot to learn. Right now we want to see him grow,” Aldeguer adds of Magsayo, rated number 6 by the WBO. (READ: Mark Magsayo: Future of Philippine boxing?)

The Avalos fight was a gauge for where Magsayo is at, and a learning experience to take notes from. Aldeguer has had his share of learning experiences along the way about moving young fighters who create a lot of excitement. The examples of AJ Banal and Rey “Boom Boom” Bautista, who both challenged for titles in their early 20s and burned out after suffering defeats, have not faded from his memory.

In Magsayo’s last fight, a unanimous decision over Mexican journeyman Ramiro Robles in September 2016 in California, he was able to put Robles down twice but couldn’t get the stoppage against the survival-minded fighter.

“Mark is a work in progress. I think he can be a great fighter but there’s a lot of things he needs to learn from. After the Avalos fight, even though he made a spectacular show, his last fight at [StubHub Center], it wasn’t that impressive. He needed to make some adjustments,” says Aldeguer.

Saturday’s main event will feature Donnie Nietes vying for his third world title when he faces Thailand’s Komgrich Nantapech for the vacant IBF flyweight title. Nietes is 34, and Magsayo is one of the young fighters ALA has in its roster who may step into the main event picture to sustain the Pinoy Pride series on ABS-CBN. From his vantage point, Magsayo is ready for whenever he gets the call to step up.

“I’m always prepared to fight anyone in my division,” says Magsayo. – Rappler.com