Durango junior alters style, thrives

Jesus Magdaleno was doing fine fighting the way he was — trading power punches with opponents. But he decided his style needed a makeover.

At the suggestion of his father, Jesus Sr., and his trainer, Pat Barry, the 17-year-old Durango High School junior sharpened his defense, improved his footwork and became more patient with his punches. Everything soon clicked, and it resulted in Magdaleno winning the 119-pound title at the National Golden Gloves Tournament in Salt Lake City on May 9.

“I went in a totally different fighter,” said Magdaleno, who fights out of Barry’s Boxing and became the first Las Vegan since Augie Sanchez in 1994 to win a national Golden Gloves gold medal. “When you’re fighting in the Open (competition), you’re fighting men, men who are strong and can hurt you. You just can’t throw punches. You have to learn to pick your spots.

“It’s a big change, but I like it.”

Magdaleno also was the recipient of the Bill Daniels Award, which goes to the fighter who displays courage inside and out of the ring. With it came a $1,500 scholarship check that nicely complemented the $1,500 scholarship check Magdaleno got for winning his gold medal.

“I wasn’t expecting the Bill Daniels Award. It’s a great accomplishment, and I am very grateful to those who voted for me,” said Magdaleno, whose goal is to one day own an auto repair shop.

Magdaleno said he probably will use the $3,000 in scholarship money to attend a vocational college after he graduates from Durango next year.

Magdaleno’s victory helped Nevada win the team title. The Nevada Golden Gloves franchise, with boxers from Arizona, Washington and Oregon, placed five fighters in the semifinals. Among them was Las Vegas’ Bradley Blankenship, a UNLV student who fights at 165 pounds out of Elite Boxing Club. He won a bronze medal.

Next up for Magdaleno is the USA Boxing National Championships, scheduled for June 8 in Denver. He said there are no plans to revert to his old style, especially given his recent success.

“At this level, you have to think in the ring and be more of a boxer than a slugger,” he said. “But I felt comfortable, and we’ll see what happens in a few weeks.”

• PACQUIAO-HATTON PAY PER VIEW — The numbers reportedly were good from HBO’s pay-per-view telecast of Manny Pacquiao’s sensational second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden, but Top Rank chairman Bob Arum is not talking about it.

According to ESPN.com, Pacquiao-Hatton did 825,000 domestic buys and could top out at 850,000. That would be the second-largest grossing pay-per-view fight not involving Oscar De La Hoya, Mike Tyson or Evander Holyfield. Hatton’s 2007 loss to Floyd Mayweather Jr. generated 915,000 buys.

Arum wouldn’t confirm or deny the figures.

“All I can say is based on the information we have is that the fight did extremely well and we’re very pleased,” Arum said. “We don’t have the exact numbers. They’re constantly changing; that’s why I’m reluctant to give out the numbers.”

• NO STRATOSPHERE CARD — The May 30 card at the Stratosphere, which was to feature Las Vegas’ Layla McCarter, has been canceled, according to Keith Kizer, the Nevada Athletic Commission executive director.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@ reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.