Magdaleno brothers to share undercard for Lopez-Marquez

Diego Magdaleno admits he doesn't remember too much about his debut as a professional boxer, other than that he won and he was excited.

"There was a little bit of pressure, but I was so excited about everything, I don't remember being real nervous or anything like that," Magdaleno recalled of his Dec. 20, 2007 debut, a four-round unanimous decision over Francisco Palacios at the Hard Rock Hotel.

Magdaleno (16-0, four knockouts) hopes to see his younger brother Jesse experience the same excitement today. Jesse, 18, makes his professional debut against Matthew Salazar in a four-round featherweight bout that kicks off the undercard to the WBO featherweight title fight between Juan Manuel Lopez and Rafael Marquez at the MGM Grand Garden.

"My brother has talked to me a lot, and we train together every day," Jesse Magdaleno said. "I've been working on my defense, keeping my hands up and making sure my footwork is good. Plus, there's no headgear in the pros and the gloves are smaller (8 ounces instead of 12). But I feel like I'm ready."

Diego Magdaleno, 24, has his own spot on tonight's undercard. His eight-round super featherweight fight with Derrick Campos kicks off Showtime's TV coverage, and for Diego, who this week made his way into the WBA's rankings at No. 10, it's an opportunity to move up and gain international exposure.

"It's great to be ranked in the top 10, but I'm not going to be satisfied until I'm No. 1," he said. "It's only going to motivate me to work even harder to get to where I want to be."

Diego Magdaleno said having his brother debut on the same card has not been a distraction as he prepares for Campos (20-9, 11 KOs). Both brothers train out of Barry's Boxing and are handled by Pat Barry and Augie Sanchez.

"Not at all," he said. "We're together all the time, and I think I've been able to give him a good vision of what to expect and still focus on what I need to do."

Jesse Magdaleno, the 2009 national Golden Gloves champion at 119 pounds, said he doesn't expect to fight as a featherweight for very long.

"I think my future is at 122," he said. "We wanted to find a weight where I'd be comfortable starting out and we thought 126 was the right place. But I think 122 fits my body size well."

And as he makes his debut at 4 p.m. to open the show, Jesse Magdaleno does so with the same excitement his brother exhibited nearly three years ago.

"I've been waiting for this opportunity for so long," the Durango High School graduate said. "I'm new to this, and I know I have a lot to learn. But if I didn't believe I could be successful, I would have stayed in the amateurs."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.