PHOENIX – Las Vegas featherweight Jessie Magdaleno was looking forward to his first 10-rounder.
Still is.
Magdaleno didn’t need nine of the scheduled rounds. He didn’t even need all of the first round’s three minutes.
Magdaleno (22-0, 16 KOs) looked a lot like a prospect in the express lane toward a major title Saturday night in a first-round knockout of Filipino Vergel Nebran (14-10-1, 9 KOs) in a UniMas-televised bout on a Top Rank/Iron Boy Promotions card at Celebrity Theatre.
The beginning to a swift end started about two minutes after opening bell when Magdaleno delivered a lightning strike of combos that sent Nehran falling along the rope and onto the canvas.
At 2:22, Nebran was down again. This time, he didn’t get up from a Magdaleno body shot, a left, that knocked the air and will out of him.
Off The Card
Phoenix Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal had a chance to watch HBO’s pay-per-view telecast of pound-for-pound king and fellow flyweight Roman Gonzalez’ ninthj-round TKO of Brian Viloria after all.
Carbajal, who 22 years ago was the first fighter from the flyweight divisions to be ranked among the top five in The Ring’s pound-for-pound ratings, was scheduled to work the corner for a debut of Johnny Tijerina, a featherweight from his Ninth Street Gym.
But the four-rounder was cancelled. Turns out, Tijerina’s opponent, Pedro Romero, was too young for an Arizona license. He’s 17. For an Arizona license, you have to be at least 18.
Romero had one pro fight, a loss in Texas, where he was licensed. In Texas, the minimum age is 17, according to Matthew Valenzuela, executive director of the Arizona State Boxing & MMA Commission.
Best of the undercard: Phoenix light-heavyweight Trevor McCumby (21-0, 16 KOs) is still unbeaten, but he wouldn’t be without a timely display of toughness. West Virginian Dustin Echard (11-2, 8 KOs), who knocked him down in the round wiht powerful right hand. McCumby answered the threat with a furious succession of body to head combos for hard earned victory by unanimous decision.
The Rest: Chinese light-heavyweight Que Peng (5-1, 4 KOs) might have traveled far, but he was as comfortable in a Phoenix ring as he would been in a Beijing one, throwing an overhand right that scored first-round KO of Mexican Lauro Alcanter (9-5, 1 KOs).
Francsico De Vaca (13-0, 4 KOs), a Phoenix super-bantamweight trained by ex-Oscar De Hoya cornerman Robert Alcazar, survived a whirlwind four rounds for a unanimous decision over Ricardo Proano (11-3, 9 KOs) of Mexico.
Phoenix super-lightweight Luis Olivares (9-0, 6 KOs) overwhelmed Mexican Brandon Aguinaga (6-4, 4 KOs), landing a succession of punches at head spinning rate for a second-round TKO.
Phoenix lightweight Victor Castro (15-0, 7 KOs) remained unbeaten, yet appeared vulnerable in escaping with six-round majority decision over Mexican lefthander Victor Capaceta (4-9-3, 2 KOs), who stormed out of the ring in anger after the scores were announced.
The card opened with DQ. Oswaldo Ortega (1-2, 1 KOs) threw one cheap shot after another until referee Wes Melton said no more, disqualifying him in the fourth round of a heavyweight bout with fellow-Mexican Bernardo Marquez (3-1-1, 1 KO).
