Next up: Jessie Magdaleno.
Boxing is back, as we saw Tuesday night when Shakur Stevenson knocked out Felix Caraballo in the sixth round in an empty MGM Grand ballroom in Las Vegas. Now it’s on to the second in Top Rank’s series of small cards, which takes place Thursday night on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.
Magdaleno, the former junior featherweight titleholder, will face Miami-based Dominican Yenifel Vicente in a 10-rounder at a catch weight of 128 pounds. Magdaleno weighed in at 127.9 Monday, Vicente at 126.5.
Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs) was an accomplished amateur whose boxer-puncher style translated well to the professional ranks. He demonstrated that when he defeated Nonito Donaire by a wide decision to win his belt in November 2016.
The Las Vegan successfully defended once, stopping Adeilson Dos Santos, but then ran into trouble against a 5-foot-4 Ghanaian in April 2018. Isaac Dogboe put Magdaleno down three times and scored an 11th-round knockout to win the title.
Magdaleno bounced back with two victories at featherweight, where he figures to seek a second world title.
Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KOs) is a natural 122-pounder who is a fringe contender at best, which means we might see a fight that is as one-sided as Stevenson-Caraballo.
Here are the other fights on the card, including weights:
Adam Lopez (125.8) vs. Louie Coria (124.7), 10 rounds, featherweights; Eric Mondragon (133) vs. Mike Sanchez (132.3), four rounds, lightweights; and Gabriel Muratallo (118.3) vs. Fernando Robles (118), four rounds, bantamweights.
Lopez, based out of Glendale, California, was competitive with Oscar Valdez before he was stopped in seven rounds this past November.
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