LAS VEGAS – Backed by the confidence of a world-title belt, by the four pounds he’s been freed to add and the freshness of victory delivered by destructive body blows, Brandon Figueroa is ready to declare himself the best of the four featherweight champions.
Texas’ Figueroa, 25-1 (19 KOs), returns to the ring Saturday in the co-main event to the David Benavidez-David Morrell light-heavyweight pay-per-view headliner (Prime Video, PPV.COM) at T-Mobile Arena, meeting the former 122-pound champion Stephen Fulton who defeated Figueroa across the road at Park MGM in 2021.
“[That] was the last time I was going to make 122. I just went in so weak for that fight,” Figueroa told BoxingScene Monday. “Me and my team had talked about moving up [in weight] almost a year before that fight even happened. Even before the Luis Nery [WBC super bantamweight title] fight [earlier in 2021], we were already talking about moving up because it was getting really difficult for me to make 122.
“But we went out there … we didn’t get a decision, but the experience, the stuff I learned from that fight was even better. I feel like I became a better fighter, a stronger fighter, a smarter fighter after that loss, and it changed me. It changed my demeanor and my drive and we’re only a couple of days away from the rematch and I couldn’t be more anxious or excited, because we made the necessary adjustments.
“We’ve made the necessary preparations to beat Fulton, and not only beat him, but beat him in great fashion. Make a statement. That’s what boxing’s all about and I just want to win convincingly. I want to dominate and showcase that I’m the best 126-pounder there is.”
The field is crowded. Mexico’s 6-foot-1 WBO champion Rafael Espinoza says he’s on a path to unify the featherweight belts. IBF champion Angelo Leo and WBA champion Nick Ball are both relentless dogs coming off impressive triumphs.
And by 2026, many expect current undisputed super bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue to be a featherweight looking for the fiercest competition possible.
“[Unifying has] always been the plan, and that’s the goal,” Figueroa said.
“I want to say maybe Espinoza. I feel like any Mexican warrior is tough, but I feel like he has great dimensions at 126 … any of these guys sound like an exciting fight, but definitely fighting him I feel like it would be a great night of boxing.”
The featherweight champions are “just great fighters, great world champions and, you know, these guys are great for a reason and that’s why I want to fight these guys, because they’re going to bring the best out of me.”
Not that he’s looking past Philadelphia’s 30-year-old Fulton, 22-1 (8 KOs), still the only man to defeat Figueroa in that tightly contested unification bout claimed by majority decision scores of 116-112, 116-112, 114-114.
Fulton proceeded to lose his WBC and WBO belts to Inoue by eighth-round TKO in Japan in July 2023, and he returned to action flatly, barely emerging with a disputed split-decision victory on the scorecards over Phoenix’s Carlos Castro in September. Fulton was knocked down in the fifth round.
Four months earlier, Figueroa battered the body of former champion Jessie Magdaleno and stopped him by ninth round knockout on a vicious liver shot.
When injured WBC champion Rey Vargas couldn’t keep a title date, the sanctioning body gave the belt to Figueroa.
“I feel like this fight is going to bring the best out in him, because he knows from the first fight that I come 110 percent prepared,” Figueroa said. “He knows he can’t underestimate me. He knows he can’t underprepare for me, because if he does, then he has no chance of winning.
“So maybe I bring a better version out of him than his past two fights. Only fight night will tell. As far as my preparation, I’m ready. I’m pumped. I’m excited, and I’m going all-out. I’m not letting it slip like I did the first fight and I’m not letting it go to the judges.”
The general points of Figueroa’s fight plan?
“Be patient. I feel like I kind of bumrushed him a lot [in the first bout],” he said. “I was too aggressive and I smothered myself, so maybe just take a little step back and be a little bit more technical. The same aggressive, pressure style is going to be there, it’s just being more technical, being smarter, using my skills, my abilities, my body… I have a long reach, and using all my tools is necessary to win and make a statement.”
While the smile was there when Figueroa learned he’d been elevated to champion by the WBC over the summer, winning the title fight while avenging defeat will be far greater to savor.
“Earning something from your blood, sweat and tears is the most priceless thing you can do,” Figueroa said. “I’m taking this fight like that. I’m fighting for the world title.
“I’d been wanting to fight Rey Vargas for it because I want to earn it. I want to earn something, not [have it] given to me. I want to earn [it] through my hard work, my time preparation, my energy. This is how I’m taking this fight. I’m taking it like we’re fighting for the belt and I’m not taking shortcuts, nothing.”
Known as “The Heartbreaker,” Figueroa in the ring belies the fashion-conscious athlete who tended to his clothing and hair before stepping on stage for the Magdaleno news conference.
At 28, Figueroa wants the Fulton rematch to launch him upon his most demanding stretch of fights yet, a grueling test that no pretty boy would dare enter into – especially if the final test is “The Monster,” Inoue.
“Of course he’s at the top of my list, but first I’ve got to get through Stephen Fulton. Anything is possible after this fight. First things first is taking care of business Saturday and we’ll talk from there,” Figueroa said.
“I just want the best of the best. I can’t stress that enough and we’re only a couple of days away from the biggest fight of my career.”
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
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