Magnifying the Magnifico Part 1 Unbeaten Mark Magsayo Growing Up

By Sharma Devaiah B.

Seventeen years after his first taste of being an athlete, twenty-five-year-old Mark Magsayo is set to see his fourth fight outside the Philippines on September 23 and is in high spirits to inch his 21st straight win.
‘Far’ has never been a new word to Magsayo as he is currently training miles away from his Tagbilaran, Bohol hometown. As a young kid, his dreams were not of boxing but to help his parents get by the hard life he was born to. This would-be champ had been selling ice creams in his little town and would then be thrilled if he had his ice cream sold out to tourists local and foreign alike. It meant he would have more than sufficient money to give his parents. There were days too when this young champ had to come home almost empty-handed. Those days were never a hindrance to young Mark. He knew he had to go to school and help his family with every means he could. And he never would have thought it would happen on one damp day of 2003.

ALA Boxing Promotions had just opened its branch in Bohol on that year. And in one of their days, they gave residents a free viewing of the Manny Pacquiao fight against Marco Antonio Barrera. In this boxing match did the young Magsayo find his future life. The next days, he donned the ice cream box and started hitting the bags at the newly-opened gym. He had his headset that this boxing would help his family better in terms of alleviating poverty. As any parent who does not want their child to get hurt, his mother was opposed to his boxing enthusiasm. His protective mother would often scold him and told him countless times to quit the sport. Much similar to champ Manny Pacquiao’s mother. Those days he had to build up his confidence.

His first years as an amateur boxer was not easy. He lost his first three fights against Bernard Torres whom he finally beat in their fourth meet when Mark was 12 years old. As his amateur career progresses, there were times when the now teenager Mark thought of quitting and instead focusing on his studies and another career besides boxing.

At 14, his mother died, and this added to his thoughts of just maybe doing something else. After graduating from high school, Mark made up his mind than to take a different path. This didn’t take long however as he would always watch boxing matches and he would always get inspired to fight again. He would always consider himself a better boxer than the guys fighting atop the ring. He once again had his mind fixated on one thing he really loves, boxing. He thought it would be a way to stand up for his family. And he knew despite his mom not liking his sport in the earlier years, he knew this was what his mom wanted him to do, and to be. Realizing his dream and potential to the fullest.

He went back to training, competing in numerous amateur boxing games. He had shown great potential at an early age as he was a four-time Amateur Boxing Association of the Philippines (ABAP) national games gold medalist. In his amateur days, he was regarded as one of the most entertaining fighters as he would show his aggressive style when fighting to which he coveted a two ‘Best Boxer’ award on two separate occasions. He had almost 200 amateur fights under his belt before that April in 2013.

A couple of weeks before he turned 18, Mark Magsayo saw his professional boxing debut at the Cebu City Waterfront Hotel & Casino in Cebu City.
This was where he scored his first victory in a scintillating first-round knockout of his first pro fight. This was where his professional boxing eloquence started.

**Check out Mark Magsayo’s official records, the hindrances he has faced, his future plans in the Part II write-up.

Photo: WBC Supervisor Cornel Damrong Simakajornboon during the weight in Ceremony, Magsayo vs Panya Uthok
Tagbilaran Bohol ,Philippines