Lightweight Jonny “Magic” Mansour entered the ring as a fighter, but might have found his main event fight itself therapeutic. It was fitting, as the card presented by 555 Media in partnership with Bash Boxing was centered around mental health.
Mansour won a six-round unanimous decision against Christian Avalos atop “Championing Mental Health: A Night of Boxing” at The Avalon in Hollywood, California. All three judges scored the fight 60-54.
Mansour, a 24-year-old from La Mesa, California, wore a robe that had the words “My mom is my hero” on the back, as his mother battles stage four cancer. Before the fight, Mansour said, he’d win his fight for his mother. Mansour lived up to his words as he had the best performance of his career amid a trying time.
Mansour filled the building with fans who stayed to see him fight, as Mansour controlled the opening round with his jab. Mansour continued to engage, while Avalos, a 24-year-old from Carson City, Nevada, remained patient, slowly applying pressure. Mansour dazzled in the third landing a leaping left hook to Avalos’ head. Mansour was in complete control as the Southern California crowd chanted “Jonny” over and over. Mansour, known as more of a back-foot boxer in the amateurs, ended the third in front of Avalos.
Avalos had moments of success in the fifth round, but Mansour landed another leaping left hook that halted Avalos’ momentum. Mansour had been scheduled for a six-round fight in his previous contest, but had never seen the sixth round. That changed in this fight as the two battled to the finish. Mansour landed clean punches, and Avalos, who was unwilling to back down, as Mansour saw the final bell in a six-round bout for the first time in his career. “I love you, Mom, and I just want to say you're my hero,” Mansour said after the fight in the ring. “Stay strong, and we're going to get through this. I told you, I'm going to win my fight. I'm going to come home to you, and we're going to win yours. We're going to beat cancer. Stay strong. Mom, I love you.”