Mark Magsayo Set to Fight in Pacquiao-Barrios Undercard

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

Mark “Magnifico” Magsayo is ready for his highly-anticipated return inside the boxing ring after the Manny Pacquiao (MP) Promotions included him in the undercard of the Pacquiao-Mario Barrios fight on July 19, 2025, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Magsayo will be squaring off against Mexico’s Jorge Mata Cuellar in a 10-round match for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Continental Americas super featherweight title.

“It’s a very great opportunity to fight for the second time as a part of undercard bouts of my childhood hero Manny Pacquiao who is the main reason why I started boxing,” said Magsayo.

Previously, Magsayo was training when he was eyed as a potential replacement foe of Gervonta “Tank Davis” last January, but the original opponent, Lamont Roach, confirmed at the last minute that he would not be cancelling the opportunity.

This is the first time that Magsayo will be fighting again since his knockout victory over Bryan Mercado on December 24, 2024.

Since moving up to the super featherweight division, Magsayo has yet to drop a single fight and won all three contests against Mercado, Eduardo Ramirez, and Isaac Avelar.

Magsayo was a former featherweight champion after dethroning Gary Russell Jr. but quickly lost in his title defense against Rey Vargas.

He is still one of the top fighters in the division and currently holds a win-loss record of 27 wins, two defeats, and 18 knockouts.

On the other hand, his Mexican opponent, already dropped 15 bouts in his entire professional career but is fresh off a hot seven-fight winning streak.

Not known as a heavy puncher, Cuellar is a different type of fighter as he banks on his stamina and high-efficiency jab usage to out-point his opponents.

In his previous fight against Yusnier Sorsano Ruiz, Cuellar dominated him in the volume of punches thrown and was wise enough to backpedal whenever he sensed danger in the ropes.

Riding on a huge wave after bagging seven consecutive fights, Cuellar is seeking the biggest win of his career when he faces off against Magsayo come fight night.

“I would like to thank Sir Manny Pacquiao and Sean Gibbons, who have taken care of my career and helped make me a world champion,” Magsayo added.