Fast Results from The Bubble: Magdaleno Tops Vicente in a Messy Fight

ESPN ringside correspondent Bernardo Osuna had the best line of the night. “You started the fight as a baritone and likely ended it as a soprano,” he said by way of prefacing his post-fight interview with Jessie Magdaleno.

Indeed, this reporter was reminded of Larry Holmes’ classic line after his bout with Gerry Cooney: “He was in my pants so often that I thought he wanted to marry me.”

In the end, Magdaleno, on his way to winning a lopsided decision, was excused from fighting the final 82 seconds when referee Robert Byrd disqualified Yenifel Vicente for repeated low blows. The fight, which goes into the books as a W DQ 10, was the featured bout of a four-fight card from the MGM Conference Center in Las Vegas, a venue that BoxRec has rechristened “The Bubble.” All four fights were televised live on ESPN.

Vicente had three points deducted from his score in round four. A low blow caused Magdaleno to turn toward referee Robert Byrd, wincing in pain, and before the 77-year-old Byrd could react, Vicente loaded up his Sunday punch, a straight right hand, and tagged Magdeleno right in the kisser. Down he went, and down hard, but he chose to continue after the obligatory recess. This wasn’t Byrd’s finest hour.

Magdaleno scored two knockdowns in the fight, the first coming from a left-right combination in the opening round and the second from a short right hook in round five. In neither instance was Vicente badly hurt.

One of two fighting brothers from Las Vegas, Magdaleno improved to 28-1 in his third fight back after losing his WBO 122-pound title to Isaac Dogboe. Yenifel Vicente, from the Dominican Republic by way of Miami, suffered his second loss in his last 13 starts, declining to 36-5-2.

Other Bouts

The show kicked off with a 10-round featherweight contest between Southern Californians Adam Lopez and Luis Coria. It was a well-matched affair and an interesting chess match between noted trainers Buddy McGirt (Lopez) and Robert Garcia (Coria).

In his last fight, Lopez gave Oscar Valdez a lot of trouble as a last-minute sub before succumbing in the seventh round. He was favored to defeat Coria and succeeded, winning a majority decision (96-94, 96-94, 95-95), but it sure didn’t come easy. At the finish, Lopez a second-generation boxer whose late father Hector Lopez was a two-time world title challenger, was significantly more marked-up; both of his eyes were blackened.

Lopez improved to 14-2. Coria fell to 13-3.

Bantamweight Gabriel Muratalla, one of two fighting brothers from Fontana, California, advanced to 3-0 (3) with a first-round stoppage of Fernando Robles (2-3) of Pearland, Texas. A combination punctuated by an overhand right left Robles unfit to continue. The time was 2:33.

In a four-round lightweight contest, Eric Mondragon (3-0-1) and Danny Sanchez (6-0-1) traded knockdowns in the opening round in a fight that fittingly ended in a draw.

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Top Rank Boxing on ESPN returns Tuesday, June 16 with a pair of 10-round co-features. Joshua Greer, ranked #2 at bantamweight by the IBF, meets Mike Plania of the Philippines and undefeated welterweight Giovani Santillan, Top Rank’s newest signee, opposes former WBC world lightweight title-holder Antonio DeMarco.

Photo credit: Mikey Williams / Top Rank

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