BY Tom Gray
March 5, 2023
Source: Sporting News
Photo Source: Sporting News
There’s nothing not to like about Brandon Figueroa, who claimed a hard-fought 12-round unanimous decision over former WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, on Saturday. Official scores were 117-109, 117-109, and 118-108.
Figueroa is a balls-to-the-wall pressure fighter who loves to entertain. The 26-year-old Texan is never in a dull fight, and his fan-friendly style has already earned him a unified championship at super bantamweight. And while he surrendered the WBC 122-pound title to the excellent Stephen Fulton (MD 12), in November 2021, Figueroa is now in position to face WBC featherweight champ Rey Vargas.
"Whoever wants to fight me, I’ll fight," said Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) during his post-fight interview with Showtime. “I want to fight for a world title. I just want to give the fans the fights they want."
Yes, “The Heartbreaker" has significant upside, but there’s one flaw that needs to be ironed out in a hurry. Figueroa is getting hit too much. At 5-9, he’s extremely tall for the featherweight division, but the ex-champ never fights like the bigger man. He simply doesn’t care about what’s coming back and that outlook is likely to shorten his career.
According to Compubox, Magsayo landed 179 of 593 power shots (30.2 per cent). Figueroa actually scored three fewer power blows but threw 653 of them for a 27-per cent connect percentage. The judges favoured the busier fighter, which was the correct call in this instance. My scorecard was 116-111.
But while I would favour Figueroa to outwork Vargas and claim a second divisional title, I’d still like to see him tighten up his defence. Vargas, 32, is a stylist who is unlikely to put a dent in the younger man. However, can you imagine a power-puncher like WBA champ Mauricio Lara scoring at will on Figueroa? Even fast-rising Cuban, and double Olympic champ, Robeisy Ramirez packs a serious wallop.
#FigueroaMagsayo delivers in every way over 12RDs, but it's @BrandonLeeFig who raises his hand with a UD victory over Mark Magsayo in an FOTY candidate on @ShowtimeBoxing! pic.twitter.com/jdC0rNRcGZ — Premier Boxing Champions (@premierboxing) March 5, 2023
For evidence of how much an attrition-based fighting style can work against you, look no further than last night’s Figueroa-Magsayo undercard. Former unified super welterweight champ Jarrett Hurd was shockingly upset by capable Mexican Jose Armando Resendiz, who prevailed via 10th-round stoppage.
Once upon a time, Hurd was considered by many as a pound-for-pound player. A suffocating pressure fighter, he would utilise his superior size and conditioning to wear down the opposition like a virus. Hurd scored excellent wins over the likes of Tony Harrison (TKO 9), Austin Trout (TKO 10), and Erislandy Lara (SD 12), but he absorbed so much punishment in return. When he eventually ran out of luck against Julian Williams in 2019, Hurd, only 28 at the time, looked to be in a steep decline. Now campaigning as a middleweight, he’s lost two of three fights since the Williams defeat and this latest setback looks like the end.
The super-brave Figueroa would do well to learn from Hurd’s plight. Despite a limited amateur background, the former champ possesses solid IQ, nice variety, and he’s an adept switch-hitter. Figueroa will always be aggressive, but mixing in some defensive work will pay huge dividends in the long run. The transition from aggressor to cerebral aggressor is the smart play here.
Figueroa is great for boxing and we want him around for a long time to come.
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