Tag Archives: Brandon Figueroa

Posted on 09/07/2021

By: Hans Themstode

Most of the hard work was already completed for WBC super bantamweight champion, Brandon Figueroa.

The 24-year-old was less than two weeks away from attempting to add even more gold to his waist, as he was set to take on WBO belt holder, Stephen Fulton. However, their September 18th, clash has officially been postponed as Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) tested positive for COVID-19.

While their contest was originally set to take place at Park Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, it is unclear if the venue will remain the same. As for their make up date, nothing has been revealed as of yet.

Although Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) was ultimately devastated by the news, having tested positive for COVID-19 late last year, the 27-year-old understands exactly what Figueroa is going through and wished his future opponent a quick healing process.

“Prayers out to Brandon,” said Fulton on his Twitter account. “Hope he recover. I did everything great on my end. Testing, sparring partners and coaches, even isolating myself from my family and friends for months. Of course I am upset but I have been here before. I’ll be even strong come October.”

Fulton’s comments indicate that their showdown will be rescheduled for sometime in October, but nothing has been confirmed.

Since winning his world title against Angelo Leo in January earlier this year, Fulton looked forward to facing yet another undefeated fighter. In Figueroa, Fulton was tasked with leaving the first blemish on his professional record. While Fulton has successfully taken down eight previously undefeated fighters, Figueroa figured to be his most difficult challenge.

The 24-year-old Texas native picked up the most impressive win of his career in his most recent ring appearance, a seventh-round stoppage victory over Luis Nery in mid-May.

Despite heading into their showdown as the slight underdog, Figueroa had little to no trouble dealing with the pressure and volume punching of Nery, nailing his man with a body shot that saw him unable to continue.

Posted on 05/16/2021

By: Hans Themistode

Over the past few weeks, Stephen Fulton was asked to put on his analysis cap.

The WBO super bantamweight world champion was bombarded with numerous questions pertaining to the showdown between WBC titlist Luis Nery and WBA ‘Regular’ champion Brandon Figueroa. Although the betting public leaned heavily towards Nery, Fulton went against the grain and sided with Figueroa.

After seven rounds of back and fourth action last night at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) was proven to be right as Figueroa pulled off the upset win, stopping his man in the seventh with a shot to the midsection. While many were surprised with the end result, Fulton simply shrugged his shoulders as he wasn’t surprised.

“I knew it was going to be him,” said Fulton during an interview with Behind The Gloves. “I didn’t expect it to be a body shot but I knew he would eventually finish him.”

Fulton, 26, clapped his hands and smiled once Figueroa was given the victory. The jubilation for the Philadelphia native stems from knowing that he’ll now have an opportunity to become a unified champion.

Long before both Nery and Figueroa stepped into the ring against one another, it was revealed that the winner of their contest would take on Fulton immediately after. Despite Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) putting on a strong performance, Fulton was ultimately left unimpressed with his future opponent.

“It was an ok performance. He got hit a lot, slow punches and a lot of misses.”

Calling Fulton a confident fighter would be putting it mildly. A similar amount of hubris was shown by the young star during the buildup of his showdown against Angelo Leo. The two clashed earlier this year with Leo’s WBO title on the line. While he sported an undefeated record, Fulton couldn’t care less as he easily outboxed and outmuscled his man en route to winning his first world title.

Now, after watching his future opponent up close and personal, Fulton simply believes that in just a few more months, he’ll be wrapping even more gold around his waist.

“I’m the more slicker fighter and more accurate puncher.”

Posted on 05/15/2021

By: Steven Galeano

Luis Nery and Brandon Figueroa square off tonight in what fight fans anticipate to be an all-out war between two undefeated Mexican champions. The action takes place from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson and will be televised live on Showtime (9p ET/6p PT). Nery’s WBC Super Bantamweight World title and Figueroa’s secondary WBA title will be on the line. The winner moves onto a unification with Stephon Fulton (19-0, 8 KOs) in September.

Nery (31-0, 24 KOs) and Figueroa (21-0-1, 16 KOs) present very different physical attributes, yet what they possess most in common are their all-action pressure styles. Both champions hit very hard and have shown defensive vulnerabilities, which leans toward a brawl for however long this championship bout lasts. Figueroa will have both a three-inch height and five-inch reach advantage over Nery, and it will be extremely interesting to see if he displays that difference throughout this title fight.

In the biggest fight of his career, I say Figueroa will.

I will go against the grain and predict an upset victory for Figueroa tonight, where he surprises most by mixing boxing and brawling to befuddle the experienced champion in Nery. Figueroa’s size will allow him to absorb heavy shots from Nery, which he will have to if he hopes to come out victorious.

Nonetheless, the winner of tonight’s anticipated clash will move on to a high-stakes unification against Fulton, who won the WBO world title in January when he defeated former world champion, Angelo Leo, in an absolute firefight. Whoever opposes Fulton that night will expect to be in yet another action fight.

Where does the loser of tonight’s bout go?

With the WBC/WBO belts locked up for 2021, WBA/IBF champion, Murodjon Akhmadaliev (9-0, 7 KOs) is headed towards a mandatory title defense later this year against Ronny Rios. There are still some great fights to be made in the division, and the loser can still expect to see himself in big fights moving forward.
Here are some of the options for the loser.

Opening the Showtime telecast Saturday night is former unified champion Daniel Roman (28-3-1, 10 KOs) facing off against Ricardo Espinoza Franco (25-3, 21 KOs) in a ten-round bout. Roman has been actively seeking a rematch with Akhmadaliev after losing his titles in their first bout by a razor-sharp split decision. Yet, with all belts currently tied up, the winner of Roman-Franco can see themselves in a meaningful fight next, possibly against the loser of Nery-Figueroa.

Raeese Aleem (18-0, 12 KOs) burst onto the 122lbs title scene with two scintillating Showtime performances in the Mohegan Sun bubble. Most recently, Aleem shined bright during an eleventh-round knockout over previously undefeated Vic Pasillas, who he dropped four times. Aleem is calling out all the champions and a fight against the Nery-Figueroa loser would be mouth-watering.

Leo (20-1, 9 KOs) looks to rebound after losing the WBO title to Fulton in January. He will face off against Aaron Alameda (25-1, 13 KOs) on June 19th in Houston on Showtime. Alameda most recently lost a title fight of his own, a unanimous decision against Nery this past September. The fight was hotly contested and any combination of Nery-Figueroa and Leo-Alameda that does not end in a Nery-Alameda rematch would be absolutely great for TV.