MARK Magsayo made a statement on Sunday that he finally deserves a world title shot.
The 25-year-old pride of Tagbilaran destroyed Pablo Cruz in just four rounds to keep his record unblemished and stay on track for a possible championship fight.
Magsayo scored the technical knockout win after the referee John Callas stopped the fight when Cruz went down for the third time in their 10-round featherweight bout at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut.
The Filipino sent Cruz to the canvas for the last time following a solid right straight.
The victory was the 22nd straight for Magsayo including 15 by KOs. It was his second consecutive win under Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach following a hard-earned split decision victory over Rigoberto Hermosillo last October.
It also primed himself up for a title fight hopefully by the end of the year or by 2022 against the likes of champions Emanuel Navarrete (World Boxing Organization), Leo Sta. Cruz (World Boxing Association), and Gary Russel Jr (World Boxing Council).
Magsayo was quick to unleash his power against Cruz, knocking down his 34-year-old opponent in the second round, before hurting the American with a combination and a huge left hook to go down for the second time in the third round.
It was only a matter of time before the Filipino delivered the coup de grace against the American, who fell to a 21-4 record (6 KOs).
The fight was an undercard in the Jerwin Ancajas-Jonathan Rodriguez title bout for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super-flyweight championship.
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