While McCrory remained the aggressor, his pressure failed to rattle the Filipino star. Magsayo looked comfortable fighting off the back foot in the second, finding a home for three consecutive hooks and a sharp lead right. By the third round, Magsayo’s defensive rhythm was locked in, allowing him to slip the majority of McCrory’s volume while landing a punishing right hand midway through the session.
The fourth round saw Magsayo widen the lead significantly. He connected on a full four-punch combination and later lured McCrory into a stinging left hook to the liver. A Magsayo right hand with 35 seconds left in the round sent McCrory stumbling. Though the Irishman tried to trade in the closing moments, he simply absorbed more clean punishment.
Concerned for his fighter’s safety, McCrory’s trainer issued a final warning between rounds. Magsayo wasted no time in the fifth, landing heavy shots immediately and forcing the corner to step onto the canvas just 21 seconds in. McCrory reacted with a scream of frustration, but the intervention spared him from unnecessary trauma.
Magsayo improves to 29-2 with 19 KOs. Since losing his WBC featherweight title to Rey Vargas and dropping a subsequent decision to Brandon Figueroa, he has found a second wind in the higher weight classes.
“Big difference,” the 30-year-old Magsayo noted regarding his move up in weight. “The weight, the training camp, the sparring, everything. I’m strong, I’m powerful in this division.”
For McCrory, the loss moves his record to 17-2. It marks his second defeat in three outings, following an eighth-round stoppage against Lamont Roach Jnr in mid-2024.
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