MARK Magsayo is cautious but confident that he’ll be crowned world champion for the first time two weeks from now.
The unbeaten Filipino guaranteed a victory against Gary Russell Jr. in their Jan. 22 fight, vowing to wrest his WBC featherweight championship.
“I respect Gary Russell Jr., he’s a great champion. But I’m winning this fight on January 22. I want to prove to the people everywhere that I’m the best featherweight in the world,” said Magsayo during the virtual press conference on Wednesday morning (Manila time) for his Atlantic City title bout against Russel.
‘I don’t think Gary has faced anyone since he became champion that has the skills that I have. I’m going to go in there to show him something he’s never seen before, and we’ll see how he reacts.”
Two years in the making
The title shot is almost two years in the making after Magsayo and wife Frances relocated to Los Angeles to resume a promising boxing career that was stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, Magsayo sports a perfect 23-0 record with 16 KOs, including all of his last three fights in the US.
His last outing against Julio Ceja in the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Yordenis Ugas welterweight clash, was a back-and-forth clash that saw both fighters get up from a knockdown, before Magsayo ended everything by knocking out cold the game Mexican in the 10th round.
The victory earned the Filipino a shot at Russell’s 126-lb. belt.
“I learned a lot from the Ceja fight,” said Magsayo, 26. “That gave me a lesson on how to adjust in the middle of a fight. It’s going to help me against Russel.”
The 33-year-old Russell owns a 31-1 record with 18 KOs, his lone career loss coming against the legendary Vasiliy Lomachenko by a majority decision in their 2014 fight for the vacant WBO featherweight crown.
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
