Magsayo stops Avalos in 6th round

Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo. FACEBOOK PHOTO

CEBU CITY—Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo recovered from a third round knockdown to stop Chris Avalos in the sixth and capture the WBO international featherweight crown  before a huge crowd at the Cebu City Sports Complex last night.

Pouncing on a groggy Avalos, who was saved by the bell in the fifth round, Magsayo was landing a flurry of punches when Referee Danrex Tapdasan stepped in to stop the carnage at the 1:55 mark.

True to their word, Magsayo and Avalos went after each other every round, with the Boholano staggering the Mexican-American in the second with two hard lefts coupled with bunches of punches.

In the third round, Avalos connected with two hard lefts wobbling Magsayo, who hit the canvass for the first time in his career and was given the count.

Magsayo survived Avalos’ onslaught in the fourth and turned the fight around in the fifth when he sneaked in a right, followed by combinations to down the former world title contender, who was saved by the bell.

The 20-year-old Magsayo stretched his win-run to 14-0 with 11 knockouts while Avalos, 26, fell to 26-5, 19 KOs.

Jason Pagara outhustled and outworked Mexican Miguel Zamudio to win by unanimous decision in their 10-round light welterweight bout.

Two judges scored the bout, 98-92, while the third judge saw it 99-91.

The 24-year-old Pagara improved to 38-2 with 23 KOs while Zamudio dropped to 35-9-1, 21 KOs.

In a battle between two foreigners, Australian Paul Fleming beat Mexican Miguel Angel Gonzales via unanimous decision to clinch the World Boxing Council Continental Americas super featherweight title.

The fight card was a collaborative effort of Ala Promotions, ABS-CBN Sports and Top Rank.