Mark Magsayo, just like his idol and mentor Manny Pacquiao, is not about to underestimate his opponent Julio Ceja of Mexico when they clash in one of the undercards for the super WBA welterweight title bout between Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugas at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada Saturday, Aug. 21 there (Sunday in Manila).
The undefeated Filipino boxer is expecting an all-out 12-round brawl against Ceja and vowed to take chances for a late knockout win in their WBC featherweight title eliminator.
"My opponent Julio Ceja is a tough fighter, aggressive fighter. He's a good fighter so I'm gonna do my best for this coming fight and I'm sure I'm gonna win the fight," said the 26-year-old Magsayo in an interview with Premier Boxing Champions. "I aim for that 12 rounds but if I have the opportunity to knock him down at ninth round or something, last round, like that. So I'm gonna push myself to knock him down."
Magsayo, who remained unbeaten in 22 matches on top of 15 knockouts, tipped in the scales at 125.5 lbs while Ceja, a former world champion, (32-4-1, 29 KOs) had it at 125 lbs mark.
Magsayo said being part of the undercard for Pacquiao's main event is a dream come true for him, serving inspiration for the win against Ceja.
Should he emerge victorious, the Tagbilaran, Bohol native boxer will move an inch closer to a title shot against American champion Gary Russell Jr, who holds an impressive record of 31-1 slate with 18 KOs.
"All I can say is good luck to my idol Senator Manny Pacquiao and I'm excited to fight to watch his fight in person," added Magsayo.
Most of the credits for his recent learnings in boxing go to no less than legendary trainer Freddie Roach.
Since signing with MP Promotions in March last year, Magsayo continued his winning ways against Americans Rigoberto Hermosillo in October 2020, his promotional debut, and Pablo Cruz via technical knockout last April.
"I've been learning lots of things. Of course, coach Freddie teaches me a lot of things in boxing and I saw the training of Senator Manny Pacquiao with coach Freddie," said Magsayo. "There's a lot of movements, that speed, and power."
The 28-year-old Ceja, for his part, is returning from almost two years of boxing hiatus.
The former Mexican champion settled for his first career draw against Brandon Figueroa of the United States to secure 32 wins with 28 KOs and four defeats in their WBA super bantamweight bout in November 2019.