Magsayo- V Vargas

  • Mark Magsayo has opened as the -139 betting favorite in his first title defense against Rey Vargas who is listed at even money odds.
  • Magsayo won the WBC featherweight title by defeating Gary Russell Jr. last January.
  • Vargas returned from a 16-year absence by defeating Leonardo Baez last November.

The betting odds are tight in the WBC featherweight championship bout between champion Mark Magsayo of the Philippines and Rey Vargas of Mexico.

According to the top boxing betting sites, Magsayo is the slight -139 favorite to beat Vargas who has opened at even money odds.

Magsayo and Vargas are booked to meet on July 9th at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas in an event promoted by Premier Boxing Champions and Showtime Championship Boxing:

Longest-Reigning Champion no More

Magsayo ended the longest current title reign by a world boxing champion when he outpointed Gary Russell Jr. via majority decision last January 22 in Atlantic City. Russell had held the WBC featherweight title for nearly seven years but made only five title defenses prior to the Magsayo bout. The unbeaten Filipino fighter outlanded the American 150 to 59 in total punches landed, including a 140 to 58 edge in power punches landed.

The victory came just six months after Magsayo came off the canvass to score an emphatic knockout of former WBC super bantamweight champion Julio Ceja in a bout for the WBO international featherweight title. The 27-year-old from Tagbilaran, Bohol in the Philippines is the no. 2 ranked featherweight by The Ring and owns an undefeated record of 24-0 with 16 knockouts.

Magsayo entered the ring as the +275 betting underdog against Russell who closed at -360 odds at the best boxing betting sites. That bout marked the only time in Magsayo’s career where he opened and closed with the plus money sign written next to his name.

Rey Vargas Bags Dominant Decision Over Leonardo Baez

Meanwhile, Vargas heads to this title bout coming off a dominant decision win over Leonardo Baez last November 6, 202 in the former’s featherweight debut. The 31-year-old from Otumba, State of Mexico in Mexico lost only one round in one scorecard and swept the other two as he picked up his first victory after he was sidelined for 16 months due to a broken leg.

Vargas won the vacant WBC super bantamweight title in 2017, defeating Gavin McDonnell via majority decision. He went on to successfully defend the belt five times before suffering the injury. He was declared champion in recess with Stephon Fulton now owning Vargas’ old belt. The Mexican decided to move up to featherweight for his next bout. Interestingly, Vargas was given the first crack at Russell before the American fought Magsayo but Vargas turned it down to slowly break himself back to elite competition. The Mexican has an unbeaten record of 35-0 with 22 knockouts.

This marks the first time in his professional boxing career that Vargas has opened with the plus money sign written next to his name. Prior to opening at even money against Magsayo, Vargas’ longest odds were at -245 when he fought Gavin McDonnell in 2017.

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Shane Acedera

Content covered on TSG: Blog and News

Shane turned a childhood love of the NBA into a successful writing career as he’s been covering basketball and other sports online since high school. Acedera branched out into sports betting over a decade ago and has been a reliable contributor to TheSportsGeek for the last five years. Shane loves to talk sports whether it’s with other enthusiasts or with his wife and three dogs.

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