By Jake Donovan
The last time Josean Figueroa set foot in the ring, he provided a major scare in his opponent's hometown. This time, it was his turn to deal with adversity in front of a hometown crowd, as the resurgent junior featherweight overcame an early cut to outpoint Jonell Nieves over eight rounds Saturday evening in Aguada, Puerto Rico.
Figueroa turned heads in February, coming back from more than two years away the ring to hold then-unbeaten Jose 'Wonder Boy' Lopez to a draw in February. His performance was rewarded with a hometown showcase, giving his local fans a thrill with sound boxing in the early going.
Cause for concern came in round three, when a headbutt opened up a cut over Figueroa's eye. It wasn't enough to stop the fight, but did provided the perfect moment for Nieves—who hasn't fought in more than two years, mirroring Figueroa's situation just four months ago—to go for broke and turn a showcase into a slugfest.
“I was feeling great the first two round but I got cut and took my rhythm away for a moment,” admitted Figueroa (9-3-2, 7KOs), who was able to regain his composure to eventually surge ahead. “I was landing my best shots and forcing a busy pace.
“Nieves came here to fight and he showed a lot of heart; it was a great win for me tonight.”
The win is Figueroa's first in more than three years, dating back Feb. '12. Since that moment followed a 3rd round knockout to fellow islander Jonathan Vidal in Oct. '12 before returning with his draw verdict with Lopez earlier this year.
Nieves was valiant in defeat, but a beaten fighter nevertheless as he falls to 4-2 (3KOs).
In undercard action:
- Unbeaten junior bantamweight prospect Carlos ‘Kid’ Narvaez (10-0, 6KOs) outpointed veteran Omar Soto over six rounds;
- Local welterweight southpaw Javier ‘Chino’ Flores (12-0, 11KOs)—co-promoted by Miguel Cotto Promotions and Roc Nation Sports—scored a 4th round stoppage of hapless Jorge Cordero;
- Kevin Nieves (8-1-1, 4KOs) stopped Javier Garcia inside of four rounds
The bout aired live on Univision Puerto Rico, as part of the network's Boxeo Al Maximo series, presented by Miguel Cotto Promotons and Hector Soto's H2 Entertainment.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox