HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – The undercard for
Manny Pacquiao's comeback fight against
Mario Barrios on July 19 will feature a fellow Filipino countryman.
Former WBC featherweight titleholder and Pacquiao protege
Mark Magsayo (27-2, 18 KOs) will take on Jorge Mata Cuellar (21-2-2, 13 KOs) in a 130-pound fight, Sean Gibbons, the head of Knuckleheads Boxing and COO of Manny Pacquiao Promotions, told The Ring during an interview at the Wild Card Boxing gym.
Magsayo, 30, is riding a three-fight winning streak since suffering back-to-back decision losses against
Brandon Figueroa and
Rey Vargas after beating Gary Allen Russell Jr. for the crown he once held. Cuellar, 24, has never fought outside of Mexico.
The matchup is an important one for Magsayo, as a win will likely put him in title contention for the WBC's 130-pound crown.
Magsayo told The Ring that he eventually wants to face the winner of O'Shaquie Foster's impending defense against two-division champion Stephen Fulton,
which is slated for August 16 as part of the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach II undercard.
Gibbons said the ten-round fight between Magsayo and Mata will be featured on PBC on Prime Video's non-PPV portion of the broadcast. The Prime Video stream
also features a junior featherweight bout between Alan David Picasso (31-0-1, 17 KOs) and Kyonosuke Kameda (15-4-2, 9 KOs).
Gibbons and Picasso recently struck a deal to work together. Should Picasso prevail as expected, a fight against Naoya Inoue
could be back on the front burner to headline a Japan vs. Mexico card Dec. 27 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Gibbons also shot down the rumor that Pacquiao's son Jimuel will make his pro debut on the July 19 card.
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring's lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan.