Magsayo beats tough Hayashi in exhilarating war

IT WAS a dream come true for Mark Magsayo, fighting in front of a jam-packed crowd in a huge boxing show in his hometown of Tagbilaran City, Bohol. Magsayo showcased his speed, quickness, power and heart as he beat Japanese Shota Hayashi by unanimous decision in an exhilirating war to the excitement of a sold-out crowd at the Bohol Wisdom Gymnasium Saturday night.

"He was very tough. It was my hardest fight thus far. He had a very tough chin. I felt that I hurt him," Magsayo said after the fight. "I was not thinking of a knockout because I felt that he was a formidable opponent."

Judges Tony Pesons, Edgar Olalo and Edward Ligas had identical scores of 116-112 after 12 rounds of fiery action.

The 22-year-old Magsayo picked his punches well and banked on his jab early on. He mixed it up by throwing combinations to the body and to the head.

Hayashi, however, kept on moving forward and tried to lure Magsayo to a brawl.

In the eighth round, Magsayo indulged Hayashi and traded blows with him, getting the better of the exchange with his uppercuts. In the 10th round Magsayo looked tired but still continued to throw body punches that hurt Hayashi.

Magsayo showed a ton of heart by trading blow after blow with Hayashi in the championship rounds despite looking spent.

"I learned that I should pace myself, not be too overconfident and stick to the plan," said the 22-year-old Magsayo.

"We expected Hayashi to be tough," said ALA Gym head trainer Edito Villamor.

Magsayo retained his World Boxing Organization (WBO) International featherweight belt and improved to 18-0 with 13 knockouts, while Hayashi dropped to 30-7-1 with 18 knockouts.

Albert Pagara (29-1, 20 KOs) knocked out Tanzanian Mohammed Kambuluta (16-4, 6 KOs) in the 2:26 mark of the second round of the co-main event. Pagara dropped Kambuluta with a right straight and finally finished him off with another right straight to the head.

Hard-hitting Jeo Santisima (15-2, 13 KOs) just needed 36 seconds to knockout Indonesian Kichang Kim (8-5-1, 2 KOs) in the opening round of one of the main features. Santisima dropped Kim with a left hook-right hook combo to the body.

In the undercard, Virgel Vitor (12-1, 7 KOs) beat a game John Ray Logatiman (6-7-2, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision in an action-packed 10-round bout. All three judges had identical scores of 97-93.

Melvin Jerusalem (12-1, 7 KOs) ended a two-fight losing streak with a unanimous decision over late replacement Jestoni Racoma (6-3-1, 2 KOs). The scores were 80-72, 80-72 and 78-74.

19-year-old prospect Esneth Domingo (8-0, 4 KOs) remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision victory over Lowell Saguisa (7-26-1, 3 KOs) in what was one of the best fights of the night. Domingo dropped Saguisa in the first round with an overhand left. The scores were 39-36, 40-36 and 40-35.

Roli Gasca (24-8-1, 8 KOs) made quick work of Jason Tinampay (8-7-1, 7 KOs), knocking him out in the 1:15 mark of the opening round with a vicious right uppercut to the jaw.

Former world title contender Rocky Fuentes (36-9-2, 20 KOs) shook off some ring rust after a layoff for almost a year with a unanimous decision win over Ryan Tampus (11-21, 8 KOs). The score cards read 59-55, 60-54 and 59-55.

Christian Bacolod (8-0, 6 KOs) dropped Ryan Makaputin (12-11-2, 4 KOs) thrice for a second round technical knockout.

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