Mirco Cuello’s interim WBA title win last month over Sergio Rios last month had a cascading effect on the sanctioning body’s featherweight rankings.
Cuello had been rated No. 1 prior to his two-round KO of Rios. His victory left that spot vacant until the WBA’s latest ratings update, which was released on September 1.
Brandon Figueroa, who had been ranked No. 2 last month, moved into the No. 1 position. Elijah Pierce went from No. 3 to No. 2, and Otabek Kholmatov moved from No. 4 to No. 3.
Figueroa, 26-2-1 (19 KOS), is a former two-division titleholder. The 28-year-old Texan has seen both of his reigns end at the hands of Stephen Fulton.
Figueroa won the WBC’s junior featherweight belt in May 2021 with a seventh-round body-shot KO of Luis Nery. He then moved into a unification bout with Fulton that November, coming up on the short end of a majority decision in what was a very closely contested fight.
Figueroa then moved up to 126lbs, stopping Carlos Castro in six rounds in July 2022 and widely outpointing former titleholder Mark Magsayo in March 2023 for the WBC’s interim featherweight title. Figueroa followed that with a ninth-round KO of former junior featherweight titleholder Jessie Magdaleno some 14 months later, in May 2024.
Last October, the WBC moved its primary titleholder, the injured Rey Vargas, to “champion in recess” and elevated Figueroa. Once again, Figueroa’s first – and only – defense would be against Fulton. Their rematch took place this past February; Fulton won more clearly, taking a unanimous decision.
Figueroa returned in July on the undercard of Mario Barrios-Manny Pacquiao. Although Figueroa received the unanimous decision nod against Joet Gonzalez, some observers strongly believe Gonzalez deserved the victory.
Figueroa’s performance, and the perception of it, apparently had no bearing on the sanctioning bodies’ rankings. He is rated No. 2 by the WBC and WBO and No. 6 by the IBF.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
