Terry Flanagan Rips Apart Diego Magdaleno to Retain Title

Las Vegan Diego Magdaleno said he had no issues whatsoever flying halfway across the globe to fight Terry Flanagan in his own backyard. After leaving the Manchester Arena the victim of a second-round drubbing, he may be regretting that decision.

Flanagan showed why he is ranked among the top 10 lightweights in the world by dismantling Magdaleno rather easily in a fight that was expected to an exciting, competitive barnburner. Flanagan (29-0, 12 KOs) made sure it never got close to that as he retained his WBO 135-pound title in the process.

Flanagan floored his rival three times in the second and once Magdaleno (28-2, 12 KOs) hit the deck for the final time, referee Terry O’Connor had no choice but to rescue him. The official time of the TKO came at 2:38 of the frame.

In the co-feature, Liam Smith (21-0, 11 KOs) was electrifying in stopping John Thompson in the seventh to capture the vacant WBO junior middleweight crown. After rocking Thompson (17-2, 6 KOs) in the sixth, he flattened him face down with a thunderous right hand. The end came at 1:44 of the stanza.