NEWLY-crowned World Boxing Council featherweight champion Mark Magsayo would likely make his first title defense against tough Mexican hombre Rey Vargas in July, boxingscene.com’s Jake Donovan reported yesterday.
“Boxingscene.com has learned that Vargas is in advanced talks with WBC featherweight Mark Magsayo. Once finalized, the fight is expected to land on a Premier Boxing Champions (card) in July,” Donovan wrote on the website.
Magsayo won the crown by majority decision against erstwhile American champion Gary Rusell Jr., who fought one-armed due to a shoulder injury suffered before the match last Jan. 22 at the Borgota Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
A former WBC junior featherweight king, Vargas was supposed to be the mandatory challenger to Russell but decided to step aside, paving the way for Magsayo to earn a crack at the long-reigning American’s championship belt.
The Magsayo-Vargas encounter should be an interesting battle between two unbeaten fighters, with the Filipino “Magnifico” sporting an unblemished record of 24 wins, laced by 16 knockouts, while the Mexican from the Mexican boxing hotbed of Otumba is undefeated in 35 fights (22 KOs).
A lanky 5-foot-10 1.2, Vargas, 31, enjoys a four-inch and two-inch edge in height and reach, respectively, over Magsayo, 26, who is handled by MP Promotions chief Sean Gibbons.
A native of Rizal, the Pinoy fighter got nod to face the veteran Russel with a come-from-behind win over Julio Ceja, surviving a first-round knockdown to stop his American foe in the 10th round last Aug. 21 2021 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
