THE president of ALA Promotions Michael Aldeguer has shown his realistic attitude towards his assessment of one of the most promising and exciting young fighters in the ALA Gym—unbeaten Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo.
The Standard carried a story by Sky Sports of Britain, which stated that Magsayo scored a spectacular victory over touted American Cris Avalos before 25,000 wildly cheering fans at the Cebu City Sports Center last April 23.
Sky Sports reporter Isaac Robinson said: “The youngster served up drama aplenty against Avalos. The Cebu crowd were enjoying their man’s aggression, but were suddenly aghast in the third round, when Avalos (26-5-KO19) felled the home fighter with a left hook. Magsayo made the sign of the cross and rose to his feet to grimly survive the remaining minute and a half of the session.”
“Having consolidated in the fourth, Magsayo found a sweet counter-left of his own to wobble Avalos late in the fifth. The ruthless manner in which he capitalized—throwing left hooks and right hooks with fluency—evoked memories of Pacquiao on the charge. At the bell that briefly postponed his defeat, Avalos was leaning stunned on the ropes, the crowd going wild,” he continued.
“With fans baying for an emphatic finish, it took him a minute of the sixth to truly find the American again but when he did, a brutal four-punch combination was interrupted by a towel sailing in from the visiting corner,” Robinson added.
Robinson conceded: “It wasn’t polished and it was fraught with danger and adversity, but Magsayo had once again exhibited a style in victory that is bound to attract attention, sponsors and support… just as he did on his US debut in October 2015, when he stopped Yardley Suarez inside the opening round.”
However, Aldeguer who is in the US finalizing fight cards in San Francisco and the StubHub Center in Carson City, California said “the young prospect will never be another Manny Pacquiao. “
“As much as we welcome Sky Sports of Britain, the International, National and Local Media, and the Fans in taking notice of Magsayo, we feel that he has not accomplished anything yet and has a long way to go. It is embarrassing to compare Magsayo to Pacquiao as there will never be a Pacquiao in the next 500 years,” Aldeguer said.
He noted: “Magsayo still has so much weakness in his arsenal that needs work in the gym as shown in the Avalos fight, it was definitely a tough fight as some boxing experts were against it because of Mark’s inexperience against a veteran warrior who has fought the best but Mark needed that kind of fight to see if he can go to the next level.”
Aldeguer added: “The plan of ALA gym is to bring Magsayo to the US on May 31 with his chief head trainer Edmund Villamor to train under Freddie Roach and hopefully he would improve, as one fight does not define his potential. He is only 20 yrs old with 14 fights. He is not ready yet; he is far from fighting for a World title. Only time will tell what he can accomplish in the future.”
Magsayo’s next fight is scheduled on ALA Promotions, ABS-CBN Sports, and TFC’s second Stubhub event in Los Angeles, CA on Sept. 24 later this year — “Philippines vs Mexico”.