Well-rested Magdaleno confident at lightweight

By STEVE CARP LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

10 years ago

Diego Magdaleno (23-0) works out Tuesday with trainer Pat Barry ahead of his bout against WBO super featherweight champion Rocky Martinez (26-1-2) at the Venetian Macao Resort Hotel on April 6.

Diego Magdaleno, shown working out with trainer/manager Pat Barry on March 26, made a business decision in parting ways with Barry, with whom he had worked since he was 9 years old.

Diego Magdaleno is ready to get back to work.

The 28-year-old Las Vegan is moving up to lightweight for a 10-round fight against Luis Solis on April 18 in Arlington, Texas, which is part of the undercard for the Terrence Crawford-Thomas Dulorme main event.

Magdaleno (27-1, 11 knockouts) last fought Nov. 8, stopping Hevinson Herrera in the third round in Pharr, Texas.

“It’s been awhile, but I’m definitely excited,” Magdaleno said. “I’d like to be a little busier, but sometimes you have to remain patient.”

Frank Espinoza, who manages Magdaleno, is eyeing a title shot against the winner of the World Boxing Organization lightweight championship fight between Ray Beltran and Takashiro Ao on May 1 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

The title fight would be Magdaleno’s second. He lost a 12-round split decision to Roman “Rocky” Martinez, then the WBO super featherweight champion, in April 2013.

“Hopefully, I get to fight the winner,” Magdaleno said. “I’m definitely going to be in Vegas that night to watch.”

But first things first. Magdaleno knows he must take care of the hard-punching Solis (15-6-4, 12 KOs).

“He’s a tough guy, and he carries some power, but he tends to leave himself open,” Magdaleno said. “We’ve been working on landing the overhand left, and I think I can use that effectively against him.”

Magdaleno knows he doesn’t want to do anything to jeopardize his chances at landing a title shot.

“I’m going to be smart and see how things are the first round or two and go from there,” he said. “I’m going to make sure I keep my distance where it’s supposed to be and make sure my footwork is where it needs to be.”

Magdaleno said the adjustment from 130 pounds to 135 has gone smoothly.

“I think that’s where my future is,” he said. “I feel comfortable fighting at that weight. I could go back to 130 if I had to, but I don’t see that happening. I’m probably at lightweight for the foreseeable future.”

■ THE COSMOPOLITAN CARD — The fight between Beltran (29-7-1, 17 KOs) and Ao (27-3-1, 12 KOs) for the vacant WBO lightweight title kicks off Top Rank’s latest TV deal. Top Rank and truTV will partner on nine Friday cards this year.

In the co-feature, Mikael Zewski (26-0, 20 KOs), the North American Boxing Federation welterweight champion, will defend his title against Konstantin Ponomarev (27-0, 13 KOs) in a 10-round bout.

The card begins at 5 p.m., with the televised portion starting at 7.

■ CARDS CANCELED — A Platinum Entertainment card scheduled for Saturday at Westgate Las Vegas has been canceled. Tickets will be refunded at the place of purchase.

Also, a Guilty Boxing card scheduled for April 24 at the Silverton has been canceled.

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