Brandon Figueroa did not respect Magsayo's power — analyst

Former featherweight world champion Mark Magsayo failed to earn the respect of Brandon Figueroa with his power when they met inside the ring for WBC interim featherweight title this past weekend, according to veteran boxing analyst Atty. Ed Tolentino.

The 27-year-old Magsayo showed flashes of brilliance in the early going but was huffing and puffing in the later rounds.

Figueroa, in response, never took his foot off the pedal and was on the attack from start to finish as he capitalized on the Filipino’s lack of stamina.

“That is really his style, he keeps coming at you with pressure,” Tolentino said in an interview on Sparring Sessions.

“We did expect also that if Magsayo landed he would at least make Figueroa think twice. But he can take Magsayo's punches, he did not let go of the pressure because he let go of that he cannot drain Magsayo.”

The fight between the pair also saw Magsayo get deducted a couple of points for excessive holding.

“He (Figueroa) really took a risk because he knows if he let it go by the pace of Magsayo could be dangerous. So the question now is, what was the counter plan of Magsayo? Because we all knew Figueroa would drag this to the middle rounds,” Tolentino mused.

—JMB, GMA Integrated News