Jonny “Magic” Mansour wins pro boxing debut in San Diego

Fans of boxer Jonny Mansour at his first pro fight in San Diego.

Photo courtesy CBS8

SAN DIEGO — Jonny Mansour made San Diego boxing fans happy when he made his professional boxing debut with a resounding win at Pechanga Arena on a Saturday in late May. The fight was in the lightweight division at 135 pounds against a fighter who already had 8 professional bouts under his belt.

Mansour’s nickname is “Magic,” because of his flare for footwork.

“You know, I thank God for this victory,” Mansour said. “Thank you to my team, my camp for preparing me, and it’s the first of many.

“All the fans from the Middle East community support me very heavily,” Mansour said. “I want to build more faith and inspire the younger generation of the Middle East to come behind me [and] start boxing.”

Mansour is one of only two current pro fighters of Chaldean ancestry. His cousin is the other.

“You’re gonna start off you know, from scratch, it takes a lot of hard work … everyone’s gonna ask you ‘why you wake up early, why you sleep early, why do you avoid parties?’”

Boxing analysts shared positive feedback for Mansour during the broadcast. “He’s a great spot for his first professional fight,” they said. “He lands crisp combinations to the head and body and has some nice little setups off his back foot. Beautiful.”

– cbs8.com San Diego