Fighting Magdalenos Score KOs in Hawaiian Gardens

HAWAIIAN GARDENS-The brothers Magdaleno had a good night in California.

Diego Magdaleno out-boxed, then out-slugged Jorge Pazos in winning by knockout on Saturday. And younger brother Jessie Magdaleno used the same formula in his knockout win over Mexico’s Roberto Castaneda at the Robert Lee Activity Center.

The elder Magdaleno used his quickness and movement to out-maneuver Pazos during the first two rounds. It was the usual flourish of punches and defense for Magdaleno, who fought for a world title less than a year ago.

Pazos seemed to gain confidence in the first two rounds against the careful Magdaleno, but when he decided to turn it into a rumble, he was met with a blinding four-punch combination that sent him to his knees. Pazos beat the count and held on tightly to survive the round.

In round four Magdaleno slipped into attack mode as Pazos circled away quickly from one side to the other. Finally, a left hook to the mid-section followed by another left hook to the liver sent Pazos down once again. Referee Jack Reiss counted out Pazos at 2:27 of the round.

“I really felt I was able to do the things we worked on with Joel Diaz,” said Diego Magdaleno, 27, who had Diaz in the corner for the second time. “I felt like a professional and I didn’t lunge in.”

Magdaleno not only feels comfortable with his new training headquarters, but feels comfortable enough to head back to a world title fight.

“I know Top Rank has something for this year,” he said.

Jessie Magdaleno (18-0, 14 Kos) was ordered to box and maneuver by his new trainer Diaz despite his reputation as a pure slugger. The slight change in tactics proved deadly efficient against Castaneda (20-6-1, 15 Kos).

Magdaleno moved deftly in and out while delivering speedy combinations that rarely missed the mark. In the second round, the impish looking Magdaleno floored the taller Castaneda twice with lightning right hooks.

“My corner told me to take my time and box him and that he’s a big banger,” said Magdaleno, 22. “I’m not trying to disrespect him, but I never felt any power from him.”

Castaneda seemed almost embarrassed that he was knocked down twice in two rounds. The Mexicali native pressed on with a devil-may-care attack. Each and every engagement resulted in Magdaleno retaliating with pinpoint right hooks or five-punch combinations.

“People have been saying that I take opponents out too fast, so I was happy to box him,” said Magdaleno. “I like to hear the people say ‘ooh and ahhh.’ It makes me feel good.”

After dominating the first four rounds, Magdaleno was told by his corner to end the fight. The Las Vegas boxer, who now trains in Indio, Ca. responded by forcing Castaneda to open up his attack. After a dozen punches were unleashed by the lanky Mexican boxer, Magdaleno timed one of the blows and snapped a counter right hook to the jaw and down went Castaneda. Referee Jack Reiss immediately stopped the fight at 2:48 of round five for the knockout.

“This was my favorite win,” said Magdaleno. “They told me to take him out in the fifth and I did.”

Frank Espinoza, who manages Magdaleno, said a world title fight is within sight for Jessie Magdaleno.

“He’ll be fighting in April then we might see him in a world title fight this year,” Espinoza said.

Other bouts

Riverside junior lightweight prospect Saul “Dinamita” Rodriguez (12-0-1, 9 Kos) knocked out Mexico’s Jose Iniguez (7-17) in two rounds. The first round saw the much taller Rodriguez use quick left hooks to send Iniguez to the floor twice. In round two, a crackling double left hook to the body and head sent Iniguez down for good at 45 seconds of the round. Rodriguez, 20, has become more patient and deadly in his ability to set up opponents. When Iniguez opened up just slightly Rodriguez rushed in with precision and deadly impact. He’s WBO junior lightweight titlist Mikey Garcia’s stable mate in Riverside.

Brazilian Olympian Esquivia Florentino (1-0) won his pro debut with bludgeoning attack against Virginia’s Joshua Robertson (5-5) that resulted in a stoppage at 2: 36 of round four. There were no knockdowns in the super middleweight match.

Sukhrab Shidaev (11-0, 7 Kos) tried hard to knock out Moises Alvizo (3-8-1) but just couldn’t find the mark. It didn’t help that most of his punches were very wide and seldom hit the mark. But they looked impressive. Shidaev won by unanimous decision in the junior middleweight fight.

Trevor McCumby (14-0, 11 Kos) walks into the ring with the familiar Johnny Cash tune blaring “Folsom Prison Blues” and walked out with a knockout over St. Louis cruncher Chris Eppley (10-4, 9 Kos). The light heavyweight fight ended at 1:59 of round one when McCumby walloped Eppley with lefts and rights. Though the St. Louis tough guy never went down, he was taking some big time shots from McCumby.

Adam Fiel (2-0) scored a knockdown in the first round against debuting Luis Pelayo (0-1) but couldn’t figure out the taller and awkward junior lightweight. Fiel won by decision after four rounds.

Former amateur star Gary Salazar (2-0) knocked out Carlos Gonzalez (1-5) with a flick of a left hook at 1:40 of the first round. The 11-time national champion from Fresno barely worked up a sweat.

Downey’s Pedro Duran (5-0, 3 Kos) and Tijuana’s Erick Aguirre (2-3-1) brought a ton load of fans with them. Despite competing in the final bout, several hundred fans remained to see the two featherweights fire away. Duran had the longer reach and used it by sending jabs against the quick-handed Aguirre. The fans loved the action that saw Duran win by unanimous decision.

WATCH RELATED VIDEOS ON BOXINGCHANNEL.TV