Unbeaten Mark Magsayo set for Sept. 23 bout in LA

Photo by Wendell Alinea

MANILA, Philippines — Undefeated featherweight Mark Magsayo is set to make his MP Promotions debut on Sept. 23, more than a year since he last fought.

As per RingTV.com, Magsayo’s bout will be on a Premier Boxing Champions card and will be pitted against a “solid” young fighter who will help boost the Bohol native’s progress, according to MP Promotions president Sean Gibbons.

Gibbons added that Magsayo, who signed with MP Promotions last March, is “two or three fights” away from contending for a world title.

Magsayo (20-0, 14 KOs) is expected to fight at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles without fans as a precaution against COVID-19 especially with the state of California tallying more than 500,000 positive cases as of posting time.

Philboxing, though, reported that Magsayo is set to face Jose Haro (15-1-1, 8 KOs).

Magsayo’s last match was a unanimous decision win over Panya Uthok in Tagbilaran City and he’s prepared himself tirelessly since arriving in Los Angeles in July.

Training under famed trainer Freddie Roach at Wild Card Gym, Magsayo has sparred with larger welterweights in Viktor Postol and Aram Amirkhanyan while also throwing hands with junior featherweight Azat Hovhannisyan before the Los Angeles county ordered the closure of indoor training facilities due to the pandemic.

The 25-year-old Magsayo continued to train outdoors with conditioning coach Justin Fortune at open-air facilities like UCLA’s track and public places like Pan Pacific Park and Griffith Park where Manny Pacquiao also works on his conditioning during his past training camps in LA.