Mark Magsayo knocks out Julio Ceja in tenth after fifth round scare

Mark Magsayo went to 23-0 with 16 Ko's when he got up from a 5th round knockdown to crush former world titleholder, Julio Ceja, in the 10th round of their WBA world title eliminator on the Manny Pacquiao vs Yordenis Ugas, PBC on Fox card from The T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Ceja, the former WBC super-bantamweight titlist and still only 28 years of age got up from a flash knockdown in the 1st round to take the fight to Magsayo, punishing him to the body and gaining a good lead through the middle rounds. But the 26-year-old Magsayo upped the pace in the 8th and 9th round as Ceja began to slow, and in the 10th, Magsayo hurt the former champ before delivering a brutal, crushing straight right hand that left Ceja unconscious as he hit the canvas. Referee Kenny Bayless dispensing with a count. To make matters worse, Magsayo landed a second right hand as Ceja was falling to the canvas. There was a period of time when Ceja was unresponsive and onlookers feared the worse.

This was a huge win for Magsayo, and he must surely be next in line for a world title shot.