Undefeated Magdaleno tops Lucero by decision

Diego Magdaleno fought as if he had somewhere to go Friday and Emmanuel Lucero was holding him up.

The Las Vegan retained his NABF super featherweight title in impressive fashion, improving to 21-0 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Lucero at Mandalay Bay's Islander Ballroom.

Magdaleno led 100-87, 100-88 and 100-89 on the judges' scorecards.

"I wanted to come out quickly and put pressure on him," Magdaleno said. "I think it frustrated him and I just stayed patient."

Lucero (26-8-1) quickly found himself in survival mode. He eventually succumbed to Magdaleno's relentless pursuit, as a combination to the head knocked down Lucero late in the seventh round.

The fact Lucero was still fighting at that point was a credit to his tenacity. He threw less than a half-dozen punches of consequence the entire fight.

"He was a little awkward," Magdaleno said. "He kept leading with his head, and I had to be careful not to get drawn in and get head-butted by him. So I couldn't land as clean a shot as I would have liked.

"But I felt like I was doing a good job sitting down on my punches. I had a high volume, but I just couldn't take him out. That was disappointing."

Nevertheless, it was a dominating performance as Magdaleno continued on a path he hopes will lead to a world title fight in 2012.

"It has been a good year for me," he said. "Whenever Top Rank thinks I'm ready (for a title shot), that's when I'll go for it.

"I know I can always do better. This was pretty good, but I think I could have thrown my punches a little crisper. It gives me something to work on when I get back in the gym next week."

Magdaleno's younger brother Jesse used a similar game plan against Gil Garcia, and it paid off handsomely as he scored a first-round technical knockout in a six-round super bantamweight bout.

Referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight at 2:40. Garcia (5-2) was defenseless after being knocked down twice, and Magdaleno kept rocking him with lefts.

"I saw he was hurt early," said Magdaleno, who improved to 7-0. "I've been working on my left hook, and it really showed. It worked great for me."

Garcia was supposed to be a challenging opponent. But Magdaleno overwhelmed him from the outset and Garcia never had a chance to get into the fight.

"I think he was a little surprised at how fast I got on him," Magdaleno said. "But I wanted to start fast, and that was the right strategy."

In the co-feature, Filipino lightweight Mercito Gesta dominated Ricardo Dominguez to win a 10-round unanimous decision.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.