BOXING IN IRVINE : Magdaleno Wears Down Santos in 10

Ernie Magdaleno has been gone from the Marriott for four years, but he fought as if he had never left. In a vintage performance in front of a sellout crowd of 1,420, Magdaleno sloppily wore down and cut up a strong but outclassed Roman Santos to win a unanimous 10-round decision Thursday night.

Magdaleno (21-1-1) of Huntington Beach would rather have been fighting Virgil Hill for the World Boxing Council light heavyweight title, but Santos happened to be standing in front of him Thursday and he happened to take a lot of punches.

After winning the first round, Santos lost most of the next nine as Magdaleno landed punches from every conceivable angle and never stopped coming forward.

“That’s the way I fight,” Magdaleno said. “I’m physical. I don’t wear down.”

Although he never knocked Santos down, Magdaleno staggered him several times late with awkward left hands. By the fourth round, Magdaleno was doing victory laps and Santos’ eyes were almost shut. In the ninth, the fight was stopped momentarily while a cut in Santos’ mouth was checked.

“I do feel I’m in the best condition I’ve been in,” he said. “Ever since I went to Germany [last year] and lost, I’ve been in good shape.”

In the semi-main event, Azusa heavyweight Jerry Moran raised his record to 5-0 with a third-round knockout over Croatia’s Raso Radusinovic. Moran sent Radusinovic down in the second round with a left-right combination, then he cut Radusinovic (5-2) badly over his right eye in the third round. After the round, ringside physician Michael De Luca decided Radusinovic’s cuts were too severe.

On the undercard, Gina Guidi of San Leandro stopped Del Pettis of San Diego at 58 seconds of the third round to win the first female boxing match in Southern California in more than 10 years.

Guidi (3-0) and Pettis (4-3) brought the crowd to its feet more than once with some heated exchanges.