Old habits caused Magsayo's downfall in first title defense, analyst says

Veteran boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino believes that former WBC world featherweight champion Mark Magsayo allowed a potential win to slip between his fingers in his first title defense against Rey Vargas last Sunday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.

Magsayo, 27, scored a knockdown in round 9 and had the now two-division Mexican champion hurt in round 10. But according to Tolentino, Magsayo failed to employ the right strategy to win the contest.

“It was not about Vargas winning the fight, it was about Magsayo losing it. Magsayo could have won that fight. The fight was his [to win], but he did not employ the right strategy,” Tolentino told Sparring Sessions LIVE.

“He went back to his old habits; swinging punches, predictable offense, he was not busy, and was looking for a spectacular knockout victory while Vargas was piling on points for working behind the jab and hook.”

Besides deviating from the game plan and seemingly disregarding the instructions coming from his Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, Tolentino cited that Magsayo, as usual, showed suspect conditioning during the fight.

“When Vargas was knocked down in round 9 and had hurt in round 10 there was no pressure from Magsayo. He was very wild with his punches and he was tired in the early rounds. He was eager to score a highlight reel knockout,” Tolentino stressed.

—JMB, GMA News