THE TWO JESSIES ARE READY FOR MANNY AND NONITO
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Tue, 01 Nov 2016
A rare boxing card will happen on November 5. Two Las Vegans both named Jessie are fighting for world titles on the same pay-per-view card in their hometown at the entertainment capital of the world. Jessie Vargas and Jessie Magdaleno will climb the ring Saturday (Sunday Philippine time) at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The matches are also historical for Filipino fight fans. Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire, two of the best Filipino boxers today and once together at the top ten of the world pound-for-pound ratings will also be featured in the same PPV card.
Jessie Magdaleno sees his fight with Donaire as a stepping stone towards stardom as he was dreaming as a child to become a world boxing champion one day. The cocky Mexican American boxer thought the 33-year-old Donaire is past his prime.
?I think (Donaire?s) best days are behind him,? Magdaleno said as quoted by Las Vegas Review Journal. ?All of those big fights take a lot out of you. It?s part of boxing, and you got a young hungry guy who just wants to take over the world and that?s me.?
Donaire has faced some of the best boxers of his time in his divisions and absorbed lots of punishment in his career covering more 15 years. Donaire hopes to change his aggressive style with his new trainer Ismael Salas, who was Magdaleno's former coach.
?Nonito is Nonito,? Magdaleno said. He looks at the same Donaire he is going to face. ?You crack him with that good punch, he?s going to open up and want to throw all his fireworks. He?ll try the new approach, but as soon as the punches are thrown, he?ll fall back to the old Nonito.?
Fighting on a Pacquiao undercard will be a dream come true for Magdaleno. It will be his first PPV fight.
?It?s going to be a special night,? he said. ?To fight against a champion like Donaire on a Pacquiao card is big. Pacquiao is a legend and he?s going to be in the history books. For me to be on my first pay-per-view with Pacquiao is a great feeling.?
On the other hand, Jessie Vargas and his trainer Dewey Cooper did not reveal their fight plan in facing Pacquiao. The Vargas camp is very secretive and give only hints.
?The game is to be sold, not told,? the intriguing Cooper said. ?But I will give you one key word ? hips. H-I-P-S. That?s all you need to remember, hips, guys.? He did not elaborate.
But Vargas will use the straight right-handed punches he hit Sadam Ali to win the WBO welterweight title in March.
?Ever since I began working with the team I have now, my punching power has increased and my ring IQ,? Vargas said. ?Just the entire way I have looked at the fight game has changed. A new Jessie Vargas was born in 2016 and everyone seems to like it.?
During the Ali fight, Vargas was transformed from a mere brawler to a fighter with a knockout punch. But he did not exactly divulge what he is going to counter Pacquiao's speed and power.
?We do have Plan A,? Vargas said, ?and Plan B is to follow Plan A. And Plan C is to make sure Plan A works. And it will work. It?s just about playing it smart and being the smarter fighter inside that ring.?
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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