While McCrory remained the aggressor, his pressure failed to rattle the Filipino star. Magsayo looked comfortable fighting off the back foot in the second, landing three straight hooks and a sharp lead right. By the third round, Magsayo’s defensive rhythm was locked in, allowing him to let the majority of McCrory’s volume slip as he landed a punishing right hand midway through the session.
In the fourth round, Magsayo increased the lead considerably. He connected on a full four-punch combination and later lured McCrory into a jab left hook to the liver. A Magsayo right hand with 35 seconds left in the round tripped McCrory. Even though the Irishman tried to trade in the closing moments, he simply absorbed more punishment cleanly.
Concerned for his fighter’s safety, McCrory’s trainer issued a final warning between rounds. Magsayo wasted no time in the fifth, immediately landing heavy shots and forcing the corner to step on the canvas just 21 seconds in. McCrory responded with a scream of frustration, but the intervention spared him 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 gotten a second wind in the higher weight classes.
“Big difference,” the 30-year-old Magsayo noted regarding his weight gain. “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 is his second loss in three outings, following an eighth-round stoppage to Lamont Roach Jnr in mid-2024.
