Tuesday, January 17th 2012

Jesse Magdaleno Bio

  • 2009 U.S. National Championships (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist…
  • 2009 National Golden Gloves Championships (amateur), 119 pounds – Gold Medalist…

Only 20 years old, Jesse is a one-year pro. A sensational prospect at 122 pounds, he is a former amateur standout.

He is the younger brother, by five years, of undefeated junior lightweight contender Diego Magdaleno.

Jesse is coming off a six-round decision win against Shawn Nichol in his last fight on January 13.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: 20-year-old Las Vegas junior featherweight prospect Jesse Magdaleno, the younger brother of junior lightweight contender Diego Magdaleno, routed Shawn Nichol in an six-round decision. Magdaleno, who was facing a southpaw as a pro for the first time, pitched the shutout, winning 60-54 on all three scorecards, although it took a little time for Magdaleno to settle into the fight. He is one to watch. [End Rafael item]

Top Rank’s Hall of Fame matchmaker Bruce Trampler said, “Jesse has a chance to be a special fighter in years to come. He was one of America’s best amateurs, and we believe he can become one of our best professionals.”

When Jesse signed a promotional contract with Top Rank in October, 2010, Dan Rafael wrote [excerpts]: Top Rank promoter Bob Arum insisted that he tried to talk amateur boxing standout Jesse Magdaleno into staying in the unpaid ranks for two more years to try to win a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics.

“I had him in the office and talked with him at length last week and I tried to convince him to stay in the amateurs, because he’s only 18, and try to win a gold medal in 2012,” Arum said. “I had him convinced and then he went downstairs with his father and [trainer] Pat Barry, and then he came back up and said, no, he wants to go pro.”

Arum said although Magdaleno had a chance to win an Olympic medal, he decided to go pro “because none of these kids have any faith in the way that U.S. amateur boxing is going. Even if they make it to the Olympics, they’ll get robbed by the judging. He felt it wasn’t worth it. So he wanted to start his pro career as soon as possible.”

Top Rank also promotes Diego Magdaleno, Jesse’s brother…

“I always liked the way Top Rank handled and cared for my older brother, Diego, which is one of reasons I signed with Top Rank,” Magdaleno said. “It is a big company with a lot of history. I am very excited to be fighting for Top Rank and to be making my professional debut on the same card as my brother. I can’t wait for November 6.” [End Rafael item]

Jesse said, “I train at Barry’s Boxing Gym. When I fight, I can be a boxer and at the same time, I can be a brawler. My game, I usually put the pressure on more. After my first professional fight, I kind of noticed that I still sort of fighting like an amateur, throwing an outrageous amount of punches and using my speed a lot more. After that fight, me and Diego, we worked hard and he taught me a lot of stuff that I kept my eyes open on, from calming down, using the ring more, being a boxer instead of always being a brawler. In my second fight, I went two and a half rounds and I knocked the guy out. He’s teaching me everything step-by-step going in the professionals.”

Fight by Fight – 2012 – in his last fight on 1-13-12 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 6 round unanimous decision against lefthanded Shawn Nichol (5-7): the bout was on the undercard of the Teon Kennedy-Chris Martin main event; Nichol gave a good effort, but Jesse dominated the fight; he consistently outworked Nichol, landed the harder punches, and won by shutout scores of 60-54 on all three scorecards; after the fight, Jesse said, “His being a lefty threw me off. I couldn’t find my range against him. I wanted to work the body, but I was having a little trouble getting inside on him. He caught me with a couple of good shots. But it’s all a learning experience. Each fight is different, and I come away with something that will help me.”…

2011 – on 11-11-11 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Gil Garcia (5-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Diego Magdaleno-Emmanuel Lucero main event, and Jesse quickly overpowered him; he scored two knockdowns with left hooks in the 1st round – Garcia got up both times, but Jesse rocked him with a series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 2:40…

On 10-1-11 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Isaac Hidalgo (8-7-2): the fight was on the undercard of the Toshiaki Nishioka-Rafael Marquez main event; Jesse rocked Hidalgo repeatedly in the 1st round, and he did not continue after the round…

On 7-15-11 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against previously undefeated Esteban Nichol (3-0): the fight was on the undercard of the Diego Magdaleno-Alejandro Perez main event, and Jesse dominated; he staggered Nichol with a left uppercut in the 1st round, consistently outworked him, and rocked him repeatedly; Jesse scored a knockdown with a body punch in the 5th round, but was penalized one point for punching Nichol while he was down; Jesse scored another knockdown with a body punch in the 6th round, and won by scores of 59-52, 59-52, 59-51; after the fight, Jesse said, “I think it was my best performance so far. I knew I hurt him with that left, and it took a lot of fight out of him.”…

On 5-6-11 in Las Vegas he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Jonathan Alcantara (4-3-2): the bout was on the undercard of the Diego Magdaleno-Gilbert Sanchez Leon main event – Alcantara gave a good effort, but Jesse dominated the fight; he outboxed Alcantara, consistently outworked him, and landed the harder punches; scored 60-54 on all three scorecards…

On 2-26-11 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Jamie Gutierrez (3-4): the fight was on the undercard of the Brandon Rios-Miguel Acosta main event, and Jesse quickly overpowered him; Jesse scored two knockdowns in the 1st round – the first with a serires of punches, the second with a right hook to the body – and Gutierrez was counted out at 2:12…

On 1-22-11 in Las Vegas he TKO’d Cain Garcia (0-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Diego Magdaleno-Marcos Jimenez main event – Jesse quickly overpowered him and scored a spectacular knockout; he consistently landed the harder punches and rocked Cain repeatedly; Jesse a devastating knockdown with a right hand in the 3rd round, and the referee stopped the fight at 2:14…

He made his pro debut at the age of 19 on 11-6-10 in Las Vegas and TKO’d Matthew Salazar (1-2-1): the fight was on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Lopez-Rafael Marquez main event, and Jesse quickly overpowered him; he scored three knockdowns in the 1st round – the first and second with a series of body punches, the third with a right hand that dropped Salazar flat on his back – and he was counted out at 1:38…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL  BACKGROUND: Jesse said, “I was born in Pomona, California. I don’t remember exactly, but we were in Pomona for a couple of years, then we moved back to L.A., where my mom is originally from, and from there we moved to Las Vegas. There’s six of us – I have three older sisters, my older brother Diego, and my younger brother, Marco. Marco boxes as an amateur. My dad played soccer professionally.

“When I was younger, I loved playing soccer – soccer was my passion. But as I started progressing in boxing, I left soccer behind and just stayed with the boxing.

“I was about seven years old when I started boxing. Diego’s about five years older than me. Seeing him training every day, being in the gym, that’s what got me involved in it. I always followed him when I was younger, I wanted to be the same as him.

“Altogether, I had about 138 amateur fights. I remember I had 15 losses.

“I’m naturally righthanded, but I can write with both hands. I broke my right hand when I was in fourth grade and I learned how to write with my left hand.

“I’m a fulltime fighter – 24/7. I’m single, no kids.”…

AMATEUR HIGHLIGHTS:

2009 U.S. NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS – Denver, Colorado, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: on 6-8-09 he won a 26-10 decision against Ramon Morales of San Ardo, Calif.; in the quarterfinals on 6-10-09 he stopped Isaac Torres of Mission, Tex., in the 3rd round; in the semifinals on 6-11-09 he had a 19-19 draw, but won the tiebreaker against Rau’shee Warren of Cincinnati, Oh.; in the finals on 6-13-09 he won a 17-4 decision against Luis Rosa of East Haven, Conn….

2009 NATIONAL GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPIONSHIPS – Salt Lake City, Utah, 119 pounds – GOLD MEDALIST: on 5-5-09 he won a decision against Brian Paiz of New Jersey; on 5-6-09 he won a decision against Antonio Nieves of Cleveland; in the quarterfinals on 5-7-09 he won a decision against Randy Caballero of Callifornia; in the semifinals on 5-8-09 he won a decision against Ernesto Garza of Michigan; in the finals on 5-9-09 he won a decision against John Franklin of Colorado/New Mexico…

STRENGTHS: A lefthander with good skills and movement…has good punching power…had a strong amateur background…has a strong family boxing background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 8 fights…25 total rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 3.1 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 62 %…

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 6 rounds – 3 (3-0)…

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