Diego Magdaleno Returns to his Winning Ways at the Belasco Theater

Diego Magdaleno Scores – Diego Magdaleno returned to the ring after losing a world title bid and showed he’s still a contender with a hard-fought victory over Armenian tough guy Art Hovhannisyan by unanimous decision on Friday.

One year ago Magdaleno (29-2, 12 KOs) lost a world title challenge and took exactly 365 days to prove against Glendale’s Hovhannisyan (17-3-3, 9 KOs) before a sold out crowd at Belasco Theater that he still has the right stuff. Another lightweight title challenge could be in store for the Las Vegas resident.

After losing his promotional contract with Top Rank following the loss to WBO titlist Terry Flanagan by knockout, the oldest of the fighting Magdaleno brothers needed an emphatic win against always tough Hovhannisyan.

He got it.

Showing good defense and a persistent body attack, Magdaleno was able to mount up the rounds against Hovhannisyan who was trying his best to land uppercuts. It was clear Magdaleno was the faster fighter and it gave him the edge.

Magdaleno, who trains in Indio with Joel Diaz, never could hurt the Armenian fighter who is trained by Edmund Tarverdyan, the former trainer of MMA superstar Ronda Rousey. But in almost every round he was landing the cleaner blows and more of them. No knockdowns were scored by either fighter.

All three judges scored it 99-91 for Magdaleno the older brother of super bantamweight challenger Jessie Magdaleno who fights Nonito Donaire in November.

Diego Magdaleno Scores and Other bouts

Undefeated Damon Allen [10-0-1] took his foot off the pedal and ended up with a draw against Mexico’s Luis “Vampiro” Arceo [28-15-5] after an eight round lightweight fight.

Allen was the quicker fighter but despite punishing Arceo with body shots in the fourth round he did not follow up. That was all that the Mexican fighter needed to get back into the fight. There were no knockdowns.

All three judges scored it 76-76 for a draw.

“I could have finished the fight strong. He kind of pushed me. I definitely abandoned the body shot and definitely abandoned the jab,” said Allen who fought eight rounds for the first time in his career. “I was worried about the rounds.

Maricela Cornejo (5-2) used her height and youth to defeat former lightweight world champion Eliza Olson (10-6-3) who returned after a decade of retirement but could not muster enough to defeat the larger fighter after six super middleweight rounds.

Cornejo was coming back after a world title loss this past April. She was able to control most of the fight against Olson who used her experience to work her way inside and score with some sneaky combinations. But it wasn’t enough.  Two judges scored it 59-55 and another 58-54 for Cornejo who trains in L.A.

“I used my jab, and kept my distance because Olson is known as an unpredictable fighter,” said Maricela Cornejo. “I wasn’t pleased with the outcome — we all want to win via knockout — but I love the fact that I got to demonstrate good footwork and skills that will continue to empower women’s boxing.”

A battle between educated lightweights was won by Cancun’s Joseph Aguirre (15-0) with a left hook to the body of Roberto Rivera (6-3) in a very entertaining scrap. Aguirre is a practicing lawyer and Rivera is a mechanical engineer outside of the boxing ring. Aguirre floored Rivera twice with blows to the body. The end came at 1:45 of the fifth round.

“He had a tough punch, and his uppercuts were a wall that kept me from going in,” said Aguirre after his knock-out win. “I wanted to finish him off earlier, and I knew that I had to work him by starting with the body and working myself up. It was a tough match, but I got the knock out for being the better fighter.”

Santa Monica’s David Mijares (4-0) knocked out Tijuana’s Jason Gavino (3-4) with a volley of uppercuts at 2:42 of the first round of their super lightweight bout.

“I was able to slow down the pace and take my time,” said Mijares, 21.

Mexico City’s Marvin Cabrera (1-0) wasted no time in stopping Tucson’s Jose Caro (0-4) with a left uppercut to the ducking fight in the first round. The taller Cabrera was the aggressor and never allowed Caro to get involved as he stopped him at 1:17 of the first round in their super welterweight fight.

“Thanks to God it ended quickly,” said Cabrera after his pro debut. “I believe the blows are harder because they’re smaller gloves.”

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