LAS VEGAS — It’s the stuff legends are made of.
After spending nearly a lifetime of his 26 years conjuring the idea that he will become a world boxing champion, Mark Magsayo has arrived at a place where one fight will earn him the right to punch for the WBC featherweight belt.
The odds are stacked in his favor at minus 270 (which means a wager of $270 on him only wins $200) but as they say in combat sports there is no such thing as a sure bet.
Magsayo’s opponent is a 28-year old Mexican fighter who once fought for the championship. His name is Julio Ceja and danger is his game.
A plus 220 underdog (a $100 wager wins $220), the Tlaneplanta, Mexico native boasts of a sterling 32-4-1 record with 28 knockouts. And he promised to make the 26-year Magsayo as his next victim.
But Magsayo, who peddled ice drops in his hometown of Tagbilaran, Bohol at the tender age of eight, is unfazed, too.
“I’m ready. I trained three months for this fight. This is very important to me,” he told Sports On Air.
The Magsayo-Ceja tiff is part of the undercard in the Manny Pacquiao versus Yordenis Ugas at the T-Mobile Arena here in Las Vegas tomorrow. The boxfest will be aired and streamed for free in the Philippines but will cost $74.99 on pay-per-view in the United States.
Also included in the PPV offering is thebattle between veterans Robert “the Ghost” Guerrero and Victor Ortiz. Both are former champs hoping to claw back to the top of their division.
