SAN ANTONIO – Raymond Ford was not pleased with a lopsided win against his most significant foe to date.

The unbeaten featherweight scored two knockdowns en route to a landslide twelve-round, unanimous decision over former WBO junior featherweight titlist. Scores were 119-107, 119-107 and 116-119 for Ford, who went twelve rounds for the first time but refused to pat himself on the back.

“I give myself a B+,” Ford told DAZN’s Chris Mannix. “I really wanted to get the stoppage.”

The chippy verbal exchanges between both fighters throughout fight week didn’t quite translate in the ring during their DAZN-aired bout Saturday evening from Boeing Center at Tech Port in San Antonio, Texas. The all-southpaw crossroads matchup was fought at a deliberate place as Ford worked his jab in the early going.

Magdanelo opened up his offense in round two. The former titlist enjoyed repeated success with his left hand to the body and also connected with a left uppercut upstairs. Ford took the shots well but also fought in reverse in his effort to minimize any further success.

Ford returned to the jab in round three and used the weapon to set up the bout’s first knockdown one round later. The unbeaten 24-year-old southpaw from Camden, New Jersey shoved his right hand down the middle of Magdaleno’s high guard and followed with a left hand over the top. The punch appeared to be partially blocked but enough to knock Magdaleno off balance and force him to the canvas. The Las Vegas native quickly rose to his feet and was seemingly alert as action resumed.

Neither fighter seemed motivated by the momentum shift. Action was slow to the point of drawing boos from a crowd anticipating the type of fight that promised to steal the show.

Ford landed his best punch of the fight in round six. A right hook connected clean, more so than the left that produced the knockdown blow earlier in the contest. Magdaleno shook off the blow but failed to respond.

Ford threw in combination in round seven. He often fell just short but it was enough to limit Magdaleno to just one punch at a time. Magdaleno launched a left hand that missed the mark, to which Ford responded with a jab.

Round eight saw Ford hook off the jab, landing to the body just under Magdaleno’s left elbow. Magdaleno seemed unbothered but also unable to respond with anything to force Ford out of his comfort zone.

Magdaleno was more active at the start of round nine. The veteran southpaw threw left hands to the body after jabbing his way inside. Ford made the defensive adjustment and walked forward. Magdaleno offered lateral movement but was briefly trapped in a neutral corner where Ford launched an overhand left.

Ford added to his already sizeable lead with another knockdown inside the final minute of round eleven. Ford landed a three-punch combination upstairs, punctuated by a right hook that forced Magdaleno to fall to his knees. It appeared that referee Luis Pabon was about to count him out but Magdaleno managed to make it to his feet at eight.

The look of fatigue—and perhaps even defeat—graced Magdaleno’s face in the twelfth and final round. Ford briefly flurried as he trapped his foe in the corner. Magdaleno avoided any serious punishment but fell during a clinch.

Magdaleno saw his four-fight win streak—spread out over four years—come to a close as he dropped to 29-2 (18KOs). His lone other defeat came in an April 2018 eleventh-round stoppage to Isaac Dogboe which ended his WBO junior lightweight title reign.

Ford improved to 14-0-1 (8KOs) with his best win to date. It was his first scheduled twelve-round affair and first against a former titleholder, both of which he passed with flying colors even in a fight that didn’t always deliver on action.   

The evening’s headliner pits local hero Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez (17-0, 11KOs) and Mexico’s Cristian Gonzalez (15-1, 6KOs) in a scheduled 12-round bout with the vacant WBO flyweight title at stake.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox