UNDEFEATED RISING STAR BRANDON FIGUEROA CAPTURES WBC SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT WORLD TITLE WITH SENSATIONAL SEVENTH-ROUND KNOCKOUT
Undefeated rising star *Brandon
“Heartbreaker” Figueroa *scored a career-best victory and captured the WBC
Super Bantamweight World Championship with a seventh-round knockout of
unbeaten two-division champion *Luis Nery *Saturday night in the main event
of action live on SHOWTIME from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson,
California in a Premier Boxing Champions event.
“It feels amazing, this is a dream come true,” said Figueroa. “I know
everyone doubted me, but here I am with the belt. It’s all thanks to hard
work and dedication.”
The fight between undefeated champions lived up to its billing with
Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) implementing his smothering strategy early,
forcing a firefight with Nery (31-1, 24 KOs) from the opening bell. Nery
appeared to control much of the early action, owning edges in punches
landed (209 to 177) and punch accuracy (34% to 27%) throughout the fight,
according to CompuBox.
But it was the 24-year-old Figueroa’s persistence in coming forward that
eventually began to wear on Nery. Better fourth and sixth rounds for
Figueroa showed cracks in Nery’s armor and were a harbinger for what would
come soon after.
“The plan was to break him,” said Figueroa. “My corner told me to pressure
him and that he wouldn’t last. That’s exactly what happened. I knew he was
getting tired, he was trying to box me. I saw him breathing heavy. My team
just said it was time to go get him.”
In the seventh round, Figueroa appeared to hurt Nery early with a series of
powerful hooks, as Nery altered his strategy and began to clinch.
Continuing to press inside, Figueroa was eventually able to land the
decisive punches in the form of a combination punctuated by a left hook to
the body.
“You saw tonight what I can do,” said Figueroa. “I brought it to him and
the hard work paid off. We did our homework. We did a great job in the gym
and just took it to him.”
Nery had a delayed reaction to the powerful body shot, but once he hit the
canvas, he was unable to beat referee Thomas Taylor’s count, ending the
fight 2:18 into the round. Figueroa’s triumph sets him up for a unification
showdown on Saturday, September 11 on SHOWTIME against WBO 122-pound
champion Stephen Fulton Jr., who joined Figueroa in the ring after the
fight.
“We’ve been waiting for this fight against Fulton and it’s finally going to
happen,” said Figueroa. “I knew I had to get through Luis Nery first.
Everything has its time. I envisioned that I was going to beat Nery and now
I see myself beating Fulton. I know he’s coming with everything he’s got
and that we’re going to give the fans a hell of a show.”
“Great performance by Brandon tonight,” said Fulton. “That’s what I
predicted would happen. This is my time now though. I’ve been waiting for
this moment to finally fight Brandon. I knew that Brandon would fight how
he always fights. I’m just ready for my time against him. We’re going to
put on a hell of a performance. Congratulations to him tonight, but I’m
coming next.”
In the co-main event, former super bantamweight unified world champion *Danny
Roman *(29-3-1, 10 KOs) dominated the second half of the fight to win a
10-round unanimous decision over *Ricardo Espinoza *(25-4, 21 KOs).
“This win is a step closer to getting back on top and getting a world title
once again,” said Roman. “I knew he was a tough fighter who hit hard, so I
had to fight smart and make adjustments.”
After a close first half of the fight, the Los Angeles native Roman began
to figure out the awkward and hard-charging attack of Mexico’s Espinoza. In
round seven, Roman connected on a vicious combination of double left
uppercuts, punctuated by a sweeping left hook, that bloodied the nose of
Espinoza.
“I felt good overall in there,” said Espinoza. “I could have pressured him
a bit more and closed his angles, but it was a good fight. Danny is a tough
fighter who withstood a lot of shots to the head. He’s a quality fighter.”
Espinoza had actually out landed Roman 124 to 119 across the first six
rounds of the fight before Roman’s adjustments led to a 101 to 66 edge in
punches landed in his favor across the final four frames.
“I started to get my distance and started fighting my fight and controlling
the ring,” said Roman. “Once I did that, everything started to fall into
place. I was surprised he went the distance, but he has a lot of heart.
He’s a tough fighter.”
The bloodied nose immediately became a target for Roman, as Espinoza had to
be checked by the doctor before beginning the ninth round before continuing
to take the brunt of the punishment in the fight. Roman’s performance in
the second half of the duel was enough to give him the victory, as he
prevailed on all three judges’ scorecards with tallies of 97-92 and 98-92
twice. All three judges gave Roman the final six rounds of the fight.
“I’m the mandatory so I want a title shot now,” added Roman after his
victory. “I want the winner of the main event.”
In the opening bout of the telecast, rising super featherweight
contender *Xavier
Martinez *(17-0, 11 KOs) remained unbeaten with a unanimous decision
victory over former title challenger *Juan Carlos Burgos *(34-5-2, 21 KOs)
in an action-packed 10-round fight.
“I could have boxed him more but I wanted to give the fans action,” said
Martinez. “There’s nothing to complain about – I got the victory. I made it
tougher on myself but I will learn from it. It’s back to the drawing board
but it’s a great victory.”
“I am happy and excited to put on a good show,” said Burgos. “All in all, I
am just glad that the fans enjoyed the fight.”
The veteran Burgos looked to press his opponent from the outset, but
Martinez was up to the task and found spots to land counter left hooks
early and often. Martinez rode his counterpunching success to a 294 to 245
advantage in power shots landed throughout a fight that was dominated by
power punches.
“I wasn’t surprised he came forward,” said Martinez. “He’s a tough
competitor. I thank him for taking the fight, he was tough as hell. These
kinds of fights are going to help me get better.”
Martinez also held the edge in accuracy, landing 37% of his punches to his
opponent’s 31% connect rate. It was the body attack that kept Burgos in the
fight, as his best moments came when racking up his 54 to 44 lead in body
shots landed.
“He was a great opponent,” said Burgos. “I was brought in on late notice
just two weeks in advance. That’s not an excuse but just the reality.
Martinez fought a hell of a fight. He is definitely one of the best
opponents I have ever faced.”
The two men punctuated their action fight with wild exchanges in the
10th round,
as Martinez landed big shots that seemed to only make Burgos more eager to
continue pushing forward. After the final bell, all three judges saw the
fight in favor of Martinez, by the score of 99-91 three times. SHOWTIME’s
unofficial ringside scorer Steve Farhood scored the fight 98-92.
“I was surprised by the scores,” said Burgos. “I did not think I only won
one round. The public opinion and the fact that the fans were booing is
what I take with me today. The fans spoke louder than the cards. I am glad
to have given them an exciting fight.”
“It was a fun fight,” said Martinez. “I know the fans enjoyed the fight. I
thought I could have done better, but I was landing clean, hard shots
throughout. Even when he was throwing, I was slipping a lot of them and
catching him. I showed I can hang in there with tough fighters.”
Saturday’s SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will replay Sunday, May 16
at 9 a.m. ET/PT and Monday, May 17 at 10 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME.
Veteran sportscaster Brian Custer hosted the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING
telecast while versatile combat sports voice Mauro Ranallo handled
blow-by-blow action alongside Hall of Fame analyst Al Bernstein and
three-division world champion Abner Mares. Brian Campbell joined the
telecast to conduct in-ring interviews live from Carson. Two more Hall of
Famers rounded out the telecast team: boxing historian Steve Farhood as
unofficial scorer and world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon Jr. The
executive producer was four-time Emmy® award winner David Dinkins, Jr. The
telecast was directed by Bob Dunphy. Former junior middleweight world
champion Raúl “El Diamante” Marquez and sportscaster Alejandro Luna served
as expert analysts in Spanish on Secondary Audio Programming (SAP).
