Brandon Figueroa on course for Stephen Fulton on December 14
Oct 11, 2024 • 5:40 AM ET
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.
Lance Pugmire has been a full-time boxing writer for nearly 20 years, serving now as BoxingScene’s U.S. Senior Writer and assistant producer for ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today.” Pugmire capped a near 20-year career at the Los Angeles Times (sports investigations, NHL/MLB beat work, law enforcement/courts and boxing/UFC) to join The Athletic, and then USA Today. Pugmire’s stint at The Times started with the first Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez fight and the Oscar De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather Jnr then-record pay-per-view, leading through a slew of ringside assignments at major bouts, including Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather-Canelo and the Canelo-Golovkin trilogy. Lance’s appreciation for boxing is rooted in his admiration and appreciation for the fighters, gladiators who have proven to be the most forthcoming and candid of all the athletes he has interviewed over a career dating to 1990. Lance was honored to be named the 2022 winner of the Boxing Writers Association of America Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence and he’s collected many BWAA writing awards in categories ranging from breaking news to deep-dive long features.
