By J. Jala | 12:55 PM July 10, 2022
For the first time, Boholano boxing champion Mark Magsayo lost his 126-pound championship in similar fashion Sunday (Manila time) at Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
He lost his WBC featherweight title to Mexican Rey Vargas by split decision.
Magsayo scored a knockdown in the ninth round, decking Vargas with a right hand but just couldn’t get the job done as the unbeaten Mexican showed great resolve.
Judges Tim Cheatham (115-112) and David Sutherland (115-112) both scored their back-and-forth fight for Vargas, who lost 114-113 on the scorecard of judge Jesse Reyes.
Vargas (36-0, 22 KOs) became a world champion in a second weight class and dealt Magsayo his first defeat as a professional (26-1, 14 KOs). The former WBC 122-pound champion, who was the mandatory challenger for Magsayo’s championship, took the title Magsayo won when he upset Gary Russell Jr. in their 12-round title fight January 22 at Borgata Event Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
