Surgery for Magsayo

Now it can be told. Mark Magsayo suffered an injury in the second round of his lightweight fight against undefeated Andres Cortes in Las Vegas last week and will undergo surgery on Oct. 2.

Magsayo had difficulty coping with Cortes’ unorthodox tactics but despite the injury, battled back to stage a late rally. Cortes wound up winning by a unanimous decision with the three judges Eric Cheek, Chris Migliore and David Sutherland scoring it 97-93. The judges gave the eighth and ninth rounds to Magsayo but it was hardly enough to overhaul Cortes’ lead.

The bout was far from clean as Cortes repeatedly held down Magsayo’s head, causing seven slips. Referee Celestino Ruiz ruled knockdowns in the third and fourth frames but video replays reversed both calls as allowed by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. Cortes resorted to skullduggery to throw Magsayo off-rhythm and it worked, particularly as the Filipino struggled with an injury most of the way.

Magsayo said Cortes’ tricks went unabated. “Dami ko tinanggap na suntok sa back of the head at elbows at tinulak ako palagi pababa,” he noted. “Hindi na warning ng referee. Tiniis ko lang ang injury ko at nakabwelo ako ng kaunti sa late rounds pero kulang na ako sa oras.”

Magsayo said he was surprised that Ruiz called two knockdowns. “Na-overturn naman kasi wala talagang knockdowns at sinasakyan lang niya ako pababa,” he said. “Wala akong problema sa stamina. Kahit late rounds, malakas pa ang hangin ko. Kita naman sa galaw ko. Naunahan lang ako ng dirty game. Next time, maging mas maingat at mas-smart ako. Sayang at kaya ko siya talunin kung di lang ako nadala sa dirty tactics at na-injury pero I’m learning from this. Stay ako sa lightweight at OK naman ang timbang.”

Reflecting on social media criticism, Magsayo said he was hurt by unfair comments. “Masakit at handa ako sa laban pero puro batikos ang inabot ko sa mga kababayan natin,” he said. “Sino ba gustong matalo? Mayroon lang talagang mga pangyayari na di inaasahan sa boxing. Ang ibang kababayan natin nababasa ko sabi ay mamatay na raw ako kung di ako mag-retire. Bakit ganyan ang Pinoy? May pamilya ako. Napakasakit na sasabihin kinakahiya ako at mamatay na raw ako.”

After surgery, Magsayo said he will rest for six weeks. He’ll do rehab then go back to the gym and prepare for his next fight. Magsayo’s chief adviser Sean Gibbons said he was concerned about Cortes’ awkward style from the onset. “My worst nightmare came true,” he said. “Mark couldn’t solve the puzzle until late. He hurt the guy with a body shot but couldn’t sustain it. It looked ugly. Mark got wrestled, pinned down and it looked really bad. But Mark will bounce back from this.”