Super featherweight contender Mark Magsayo has informed World Boxing News that he intends to face the best around.
Magsayo is back in business at the top end of the division following an early knockout victory at the back end of 2023. The third-round wipeout of Isaac Avelar put the Filipino star in line for some considerable challenges to come.
One of those could be Emanuel Navarrete, the former two-weight WBO champion. Navarrete moves up to lightweight to challenge for the vacant World Boxing Organization title on May 18. If successful, Magsayo would be one of his future rivals.
“Navarrete is a really good fighter. He likes to go toe to toe, so I want to fight him someday,” Magsayo exclusively told World Boxing News. “I want to fight all the best at this weight class first. That is my main goal.
“I plan to move up. I have a long career, and I am naturally big. But now I focus on my goal at 130.”
Securing a title at 130 could only be around the corner for Magsayo following his latest performance. The buzz surrounding the KO was immense.
Asked how he felt about it, Magsayo responded: “I am grateful to everybody. I always want to make a good boxing show every fight. It’s the kind of fight that everybody wants to watch again and again. I do my job in the ring.”
On when he could be back in action and if there were any targets for 2024, Magsayo replied: “I’ll be back in May or, at the latest, in June.
“I am going to fight anybody they put in front of me, but I want great fighters so it can be a good show for the boxing fans,” he concluded.
Earlier in the interview, WBN asked Magsayo to comment about ‘his idol’ Manny Pacquiao and the decision not to award him an Olympic spot. And also, a rumored fight with Conor Benn.
“My idol Manny Pacquiao is too much for all other fighters who would compete at the Olympic Games in Paris,” Magsayo stated. “My idol Manny is already a G.O.A.T [Greatest Of All Time], but I hope he fights one more time in professional boxing.
“I think that would be a great fight [against Conor Benn]. It would be another one to add to the history of boxing and to Manny’s great career. Benn is young, but my idol Pacman is strong and still fast. He is like no other fighter, so it will be a great fight.”
On reports of Pacquiao vs Mayweather II, the 28-year-old concluded: “Any fight that Manny Pacquiao will do this year will be a great fight.
“Everybody wants to see him fight, and if that is against Floyd Mayweather, it will be another great event for my idol.”
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