Jessie Magdaleno dominates in return to featherweight
They saved the most popular fighter for last Friday at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Local undefeated standout Jessie Magdaleno returned to the ring and took care of things impressively, defeating Raul Hirales Jr. by unanimous decision in Magdaleno’s return to the featherweight division. He had spent most of the past two years fighting as a super bantamweight after beginning his pro career at 126 pounds.
The judges scored the fight 80-70, 80-70 and 80-69 for Magdaleno, who improved 21-0. Hirales dropped to 22-5-1.
“This may have been my best performance,” Magdaleno said. “Everything we’ve been working on in the gym worked perfectly tonight. I kept the fight in the middle of the ring and stayed off the ropes, and I controlled the entire fight.”
Magdaleno was a late addition to the card and probably should have been on the truTV telecast. Instead, his fight, scheduled to precede the telecast, got pushed back to the final bout.
Still, there were plenty of Magdaleno’s Las Vegas fans who stuck around to cheer him.
He didn’t waste any time going right after Hirales. Magdaleno landed a solid left hook to the body, and his jab was on target. In the second round, Magdaleno caught Hirales with a short, hard right hand to the head that knocked him down.
Hirales got up, and Magdaleno continued to work him over. Magdaleno finished the round with a roundhouse right that almost put Hirales down again.
Magdaleno’s trainer, Ismael Salas, has worked diligently to improve his fighter’s defense, but it wasn’t needed Friday because Magdaleno was so overwhelming with his offense. Hirales struggled to lay a solid glove on him.
Magdaleno scored another knockdown of Hirales in the eighth round, using a three-punch combination to send Hirales to the canvas.
“Salas wants me going to the body more, and I landed some really good shots,” Magdaleno said. “My footwork was really good. I was able to get more behind my punches. I’m very happy with this win.”
In the main event, Ray Beltran knocked down Takahiro Ao early in the second round and won by technical knockout. The fight was supposed to be for the vacant World Boxing Organization lightweight title, but when Beltran failed to make the 135-pound limit (he was 135.4), only Ao could win the title.
Ao (27-4-1) never had a chance. Beltran (30-7-1) rocked him with a solid right to the side of the head, sending Ao to the canvas. He beat referee Tony Weeks’ count, but Beltran was all over him, pummeling Ao before Weeks stopped the fight at 1:29 of the second round.
Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.