Homegrown fighter Johnny “Magic” Mansour punched and danced his way to victory Saturday.
The night of professional boxing debut at Pechanga Arena.
Mansour, of La Mesa, won a unanimous decision in a four-round lightweight bout against Bosnian Anel Dudo, but Dudo lost with a record of 3 wins, 6 losses, and 1 KO.
After the match, Mansour said he was “excited.” “This is the first of many.”
Mansour, 23, has been training as a boxer since he was eight years old, and his efforts have paid off in spades.
Confident and aggressive performance.
Wearing white and gold trunks, he attacked with throws from the first round.
He landed a combination and moved forward, pushing Dudo against the ropes.
The same thing continued in the second round, and in the third he kept moving and hanging on.
Evade Doodo's attack.
By the fourth round, he was well on his way to victory, with local fans screaming his name.
Mansour takes great pride in his Iraqi heritage, and dozens of fans in the arena wore white T-shirts emblazoned with his name.
“We had a big fan base,” he said. “The support of the Chaldean community, the Middle East, has been incredible.
heavy. “
The match capped off a whirlwind week for Mansour, who held public training sessions in El Cajon and spoke to about two dozen boys and girls who were training at CYAC.
A gym in National City.
As someone who started training as a boy, Mansour said many people told him to give up and encouraged young people to keep training.
On Saturday night, he proved those doubters wrong.
“I just want to do more inside that ring,” he said. “I’m ready to get back in that gym next time.”
week. “
Mansour's bout is a championship bout between Emmanuel Navarrete vs. Dennis Belincik and a welter between undefeated San Diegan Giovani Santillan (30-0, 17 KOs) vs. Brian Norman (25-0, 17 KOs) The night's undercard included a 12-round match. 19KO).
