Jessie Magdaleno retains WBO title with second-round knockout

CARSON, Calif. — Jessie Magdaleno looked up on his way out of the ring to soak in the praises from the crowd at the StubHub Center.

Several fans stopped the Las Vegan for a photo before he returned to the locker room. But one fan just wanted Magdaleno to accept his Mexican flag as a gift.

Like a ballerina getting showered with flowers, Magdaleno won the admiration of the mostly Mexican-American crowd Saturday after a second-round knockout against Adeilson Dos Santos to retain the WBO junior featherweight belt.

Magdaleno, who made his first title defense, connected on a right hand to Dos Santos’ temple to drop the Brazilian for the first of two knockdowns in the second round. Seconds later, Dos Santos hit the canvas again and grabbed onto Magdaleno’s legs. Referee Lou Moret stopped the bout at the 2:51 mark.

“I’m on cloud nine,” Magdaleno said while clutching the Mexican flag he had accepted. “That was amazing.

“It’s an amazing feeling to know I have these proud Mexicans supporting me. As a Mexican myself, and my dad who came over here to start a new life and a new career, I fight for these Mexican fans, and I fight for the Mexican pride that I have.”

Magdaleno, 25, started fast by charging forward to attack Dos Santos’ body. The southpaw fighter said he assumed the taller Dos Santos would try to use his reach and outbox him.

“I didn’t want to give him that chance,” Magdaleno said. “I beat him to the punch.”

Magdaleno (25-0, 18 knockouts) has been on the rise since defeating future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire in November at the Thomas & Mack Center to become a first-time champion.

“Jessie is on his way to bigger things,” trainer Manny Robles said. “Overall, I’m happy with the performance, but we still have work to do. Jessie wants to be a champion for a long time.”

Magdaleno was one of three WBO titlists on the Top Rank card that was dubbed “The Future of Boxing.”

Oscar Valdez and Miguel Marriaga had the announced crowd of 5,419 standing for their action-packed main event. Valdez retained his featherweight belt by unanimous decision — 119-108, 116-111, 118-109.

Valdez dropped Marriaga in the 10th round to ignite the Mexican’s late charge and put the fight away.

Gilberto Ramirez returned from a one-year hiatus to defeat Max Bursak by unanimous decision, 120-106 on all three scorecards.

Ramirez made his first title defense since winning the super middleweight crown in April 2016. He injured his right hand in that fight.

“The hand is 100 percent recovered,” Ramirez said. “I’m ready to fight anyone.”

Shakur Stevenson, the American Olympian who won silver last summer, had an impressive debut in a unanimous decision over Edgar Brito. Each of the three judges scored it 60-54.

Stevenson dominated the bout with strong left jabs, but collided with Brito on multiple head butts, forcing the doctors to stop the fight before the sixth round.

Porter vs. Berto

Shawn Porter took care of business against Andre Berto to earn another welterweight title shot.

Porter recorded a ninth-round technical knockout over Berto on Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The Las Vegas resident is now the mandatory challenger for WBC and WBA champion Keith Thurman. Porter lost to Thurman last year.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.