Brandon Figueroa on course for Stephen Fulton on December 14

Brandon Figueroa broke the news on his Instagram, posting footage of him shadowboxing rapidly and an image of him as a child with the caption: “I’m a 3X champion now.”

Through a series of events, Figueroa’s planned title showdown against the WBC featherweight champion Rey Vargas was scrapped because the injured Vargas was designated “champion-in-recess” by the WBC.

Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) was then elevated to champion and placed by Premier Boxing Champions on to the December 14 Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach pay-per-view lightweight title card in Houston, where he’ll stage a rematch against Stephen Fulton.

In 2021, Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) defeated Figueroa by majority decision in Las Vegas to become the unified WBO and WBC champion.

Figueroa, 27, of Weslaco, Texas, previously won the WBC belt by knocking out Luis Nery earlier in 2021.

Figueroa has gone 3-0 since the loss to Fulton, capturing the WBC interim 126lbs belt by posting a unanimous decision victory in March 2023 over Mark Magsayo and then retaining that belt by knocking out the former champion Jessie Magdaleno with a ninth-round body shot on May 4 on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-Jaime Munguia card in Las Vegas. 

The WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told BoxingScene that Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs) “was committed to” fighting Figueroa following Vargas’ March 8 draw with the reigning WBA featherweight champion Nick Ball.

Premier Boxing Champions told BoxingScene in June that Vargas-Figueroa would happen in 2024, but Mexico’s Vargas injured his shoulder and has undergone surgery, Sulaiman reports.

That therefore moves Figueroa to Fulton, who is coming off a sluggish showing on the September 14 Alvarez Edgar Berlanga undercard.

Carlos Castro knocked down Fulton in the fifth round and Fulton was noticeably jeered by the crowd when awarded a split-decision victory via scores of 94-95, 96-93, 95-94.