Magdaleno injures hand, pulls out of title defense

Undefeated super bantamweight world champion Jessie Magdaleno withdrew from a scheduled Nov. 11 title defense in Fresno against Mexico’s Cesar Juarez due to a hand injury.

Magdaleno (25-0, 18 KO’s), 25, of Las Vegas, has held the WBO world title since November 2016 when he defeated former four-division world champion Nonito Donaire on points. Magdaleno defended his title in April with a knockout of Adeilson Dos Santos and was preparing to make his second title defense prior to the injury. The timetable for his return is unknown.

“It is unfortunate,” Top Rank President Todd duBoef told the Los Angeles Times.

Juarez (20-5, 15 KO’s), 26, of Mexico, is coming off a third-round knockout of the unknown Eugene Lagos in April. The Magdaleno fight was slated to be his second shot at a world title. He came up short in his first attempt, a unanimous decision loss to the aforementioned Donaire for the same belt in December 2015.

Despite the removal of the main attraction, a new one will take its place, and the ESPN-televised card will continue as scheduled. Unbeaten WBC Continental Americas super lightweight champion Jose Carlos Ramirez (20-0, 15 KO’s), of Avenal, California squares off against Mike “Yes Indeed” Reed (23-0, 12 KO’s), an undefeated southpaw from Washington D.C.