Jessie Magdaleno Chronicles His Life in the Bubble
When it was announced that boxing would soon be making a return, initially boxing fans were only concerned with the fact that their beloved sports was going to resume action. During those two initial broadcasts however, the mainstream public was introduced to Top Rank promotions’ concept of ‘the Bubble.’
Upon learning of the quarantined section of the MGM Grand that Top Rank has nicknamed ‘the Bubble,’ it was only natural that the boxing public would want to hear more about the in’s and out’s of the system. How did it work and how strict was it really?
ON THE FRONT LINES
Having fought in the main event of Top Rank’s second return telecast, former super bantamweight champion Jessie Magdaleno (28-1, 18 KO’s) is one of the few fighters who have already experienced life in the Bubble.
While conducting an exclusive interview with Fight Hub TV, Magdaleno recounted the ridged guidelines that he was required to adhere to under the experimental system.
“It was very interesting, I’ll tell you that! Very interesting! The whole protocol, the whole testing, being in the Bubble it was just all around different. We had to be escorted everywhere we went, whether it was to the weigh-in, to the venues for the fight, to get tested, everything was very strict.”
“And I get it, it’s supposed to be like that for the fighter’s safety and they did a very good job. MGM did a very good job, the security at MGM did a very good job, they did what they were supposed to do and overall I was pleased with how they did it.”
THE TWELFTH FLOOR
As Magdaleno continued to explain, when being escorted around, their aids where not there simply for show!
“No, you can’t interact with anybody, you can’t shake hands, everything had to be distant. Everybody was covered up, gloves, masks you know, and everything was taken very seriously because they didn’t want nobody to catch anything or, you know, come up positive.”
“…at all times we were escorted and yeah, we were all on the twelfth floor. All the fighters and coaches and staff was just the twelfth floor and that was it. No one was able to hit the twelfth floor, no one was to go in there. We couldn’t go down into the casino itself, we just had to strictly be in our rooms and up in that twelfth floor area and that was it.”
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
Magdaleno was appreciative of the effort and concern that Top Rank and their staff demonstrated. However, even so, when the fight was over, he was definitely ready to hit the highway! But who could be mad at that?
“After the fight, it was either, if you went back up to your room, you had to stay in the Bubble; you couldn’t go out no more. But me and my coach, what we did, we packed our stuff, went to the fight. After the fight was done, we shot straight home! You know I was done with that, I didn’t want to be in there no more. We already came out negative, we were already good to go, so why stay another night?”
By: Bakari Simpson
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