After the fight: Mark Magsayo – a bump in the road vs. end of a dream

Mark Magsayo fell short in his first title defense. After his first loss to Rey Vargas, Magsayo’s future is unclear as he tries to climb back. 

Boxers Mark Magsayo and Rey Vargas dared to be great by stepping in the ring together. Too many boxers fear challenging themselves. A threat of a loss dissuades many, and it’s also crippling boxing in the process.

In team sports, losing is a common occurrence. The same is true in most individual sports, but for some reason, boxing is different, or at least, it’s perceived that way.

If a tennis player loses a match, it’s a setback, but it’s not the end of their career. Their ranking might drop slightly, but they gear up and head to the next tournament, where they will probably lose again.

Losing is acceptable in tennis and golf, but it’s taboo in boxing. In a tournament structure, there can only be one winner. There are also a lot of losers. In boxing, a loss knocks a fighter down the mountain, forcing them to attempt to work their way back to a title fight.

That can take years, or may never happen.

Boxing is a battle of wills, skills and brawn. It’s a real fight. The word ‘fight’ is used as a metaphor in other sports, but it’s a reality in boxing. To defeat your opponent, you literally have to beat them physically.

It’s an ugly but accurate description. Maybe the optics of seeing one person punch their opponent into submission translates differently to the audience than, say, a golfer hitting errant shots on the green. The vision of vulnerability is so much more raw and abrupt in boxing.

In an era where competitive contests are harder to come by in years past, the July 9 matchup between Magsayo and Vargas seems that much more valiant.

Magsayo stepped up to the plate to challenge Gary Russell Jr. in January to win the WBC featherweight title. Magsayo took on former super bantamweight champion Vargas, who was also his mandatory.

Mark Magsayo lost to Vargas, but at 27, there’s plenty of time for Magsayo to re-tool and rebound from this disappointment

The term ‘mandatory’ is a bit of a misnomer. Fights are mandatory when they are enforced by sanctioning bodies, usually based on time, circumstances, and/or politics. This time, a mandatory placed two undefeated boxers together in a highly competitive match. It’s a rare case where the ‘mandatory’ designation served its purpose.

Magsayo and Vargas shined at moments in their fight, but Vargas controlled the action for most of the contest. Still, Magsayo’s power nearly got the better of Vargas in round 9 when he knocked Vargas down.

Vargas’s chin and boxing skills allowed him to regain his senses and pick up his tempo. It was a split decision for Vargas, which tells you it was a close fight, but the right man won. CompuBox showed Vargas out-landing Magsayo 196-132 (h/t Boxingscene.com).

CompuBox stats don’t always tell the full story of a fight, but they do a pretty good job in this case. Magsayo chased Vargas for much of the battle but couldn’t cut him off. He lunged after Vargas with swinging blows but didn’t throw or land enough.

Vargas used his jab and moved well around the ring. He was a step ahead of Magsayo, except when he was caught in round 9. Magsayo lost and was big enough to admit it.

“It’s his today, no matter what,” Magsayo said after the fight. “I’ll come back stronger. I’m disappointed, but I did my best.”

No matter what happens next for Magsayo, he has already achieved a spectacular dream of winning the WBC title. Whether or not he’s capable of becoming a great fighter is the next part of his journey. If he wins another world title, his loss to Vargas becomes a bump in the road.