Las Vegan Jessie Magdaleno wins by DQ on Top Rank card

Las Vegas featherweight Jessie Magdaleno already had endured three low blows from Yenifel Vicente on Thursday in the main event of Top Rank’s second boxing card inside the MGM Grand’s Grand Ballroom.

Referee Robert Byrd decided the fourth was one too many.

Byrd disqualified Vicente 1:38 into the 10th and final round after the fourth low blow, giving Magdaleno a third victory in the weight class and advancing his case for a world title shot.

The Durango High School graduate knocked down Vicente in the first round and controlled the subsequent rounds to frustrate the 33-year-old Dominican and trigger his underhanded tactics.

“He was just a dirty fighter,” said Magdaleno, a former WBO super bantamweight champion. “Once he felt the power, once I put him down with various right hooks, even with the jab. … he felt the power, didn’t know to come in because I was dodging everything. His way was just to fight dirty.”

Magdaleno (28-1, 18 knockouts) won the WBO crown in Las Vegas in October 2016 and made one successful defense before losing the belt to Isaac Dogboe in April 2018 in his only pro defeat.

He moved up to the featherweight division after the loss and beat Rico Ramos and Rafael Rivera and hoped to make a statement Thursday before Vicente mucked up the fight.

Magdaleno, 28, floored Vicente in the first round and controlled the second and third rounds with his slick boxing. But Vicente went low in the fourth and followed with a head shot as Byrd called for time, prompting a two-point deduction. Magdaleno was floored by the punch and needed several minutes to recover before continuing.

Vicente (36-5-2, 28 KOs) added another low blow later in the round and was dropped again in the fifth, becoming increasingly wild as the fight progressed. Magdaleno was not as aggressive in the later rounds and led 87-79, 87-79 and 85-81 when the fight was stopped.

“He knew what he was doing. And, like I said, his way was to get me low and get me in his fight game,” Magdaleno said. “But I’m too much of a smart fighter. … I knew I had to move.”

Magdaleno is the No. 1 featherweight contender in the WBC and No. 4 in the WBO. Gary Russell holds the WBC title, and Shakur Stevenson is the WBO titlist.

“I don’t give a (expletive) who it is. I want all of them,” Magdaleno said. “I’m at the door for WBC with Gary Russell. Well, Gary Russell, I’m coming, baby. Be ready, we’re coming.”

Zavala tests positive

Featherweight prospect Chris Zavala (6-0, three KOs) tested positive for the coronavirus and has been pulled from Tuesday’s Top Rank card. He was supposed to fight Eddie Vazquez (7-0, one KO) on the undercard.

Zavala is the second Top Rank fighter to test positive for the coronavirus amid boxing’s return. Mikaela Mayer was scheduled to fight on the first card Tuesday.

Mayer said Thursday via Twitter that “my antibody test showed I was infected a few months back (pos IgG). My body was simply still shedding the virus which resulted in a positive test despite not being sick or infectious. Info from my case will help to adjust testing protocol to avoid similar issues in the future.”

Contact reporter Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.