By Ryan Songalia
Since turning professional in 2001, the recognition that Francisco Figueroa Jr. felt he deserved has eluded him. Long buried under higher profile New York-based junior welterweights like Paul Malignaggi and Vivian Harris, Figueroa was a sixth toe of sorts in his own hometown, unable to garner the respect or meaningful fights necessary to make significant moves in the sport.
“I was like a little child with a thumb stuck in my mouth looking at [Lou] Dibella like ‘C’mon man, put me on!’”, joked Figueroa, 15-2 (11 KO), who finally got his chance to make his statement on Broadway Boxing last month.
Fighting for the public’s attention, Figueroa stole the show in his Hammerstein Ballroom debut with an eye-catching third round technical knockout of professional yardstick Antonio Ramirez.
“I felt very good,” Figueroa says. “My ring generalship was on point, as was my power punching. I missed a lot of my hooks because he was so short. (At 5’5, Ramirez was an inch shorter than Figueroa.)”
That performance showcased a mark of improvement from Figueroa’s last televised fight, a 2004 decision loss to Francisco Rincon. Gone were the wide homerun swings, which Rincon simply stepped inside of and countered between to great effect. In their place were short, accurate blows that denoted a sense of discipline that seemed to be lacking in Figueroa’s earlier bouts.
Earlier in his career, Figueroa compensated for his greenness with athleticism, while losing focus frequently in bouts. A relative late starter in boxing at 22, he only had 16 amateur bouts before turning pro. Gato has been learning his trade on the job, coupling pro action along with experience gained as a sparring partner for Arturo Gatti and Ricky Hatton, among others.
Working his corner now is Eggie Martinez, an experienced trainer whose past clientele includes current middleweight kingpin Jermain Taylor. Figueroa has been pleased with the progress that they’ve made since defeating Joey Rios last Fall, which he says includes learning how to pace himself better and maintaining his composure.
But just as Ricky Hatton earned the ignominious nickname of “Ricky Fatton”, it seemed as if Gato would be more suited to the moniker “Gordo”. When he entered training camp for the Ramirez bout, the 5’6 Figueroa weighed a reprehensible 175 pounds.
“My eating habits were very poor,” Figueroa conceded. “The problem with a lot of boxers is that we don’t think outside of the ring about eating right or not going out as much.”
When asked about his favorite fast food guilty pleasure, Figueroa had a hard time narrowing it down. “Everything! I’m a garbage truck.”
Figueroa says that the hardest part of the sport for him has been getting back in shape after letting himself go. “That’s killer for boxers. It makes boxing not a good sport to be in.”
Frankie has improved his nutrition habits since then, making adjustments to where he buys his food and what he intakes. “I go to natural food stores now like Whole Foods. I don’t eat processed meats or trans fats anymore. Grilled chicken breast, fresh garlic, as a whole different person this is what I eat.”
Having to sacrifice is nothing unfamiliar to Figueroa. The cherished Golden Gloves that he won in 2001 were a casualty of necessity. “I wasn’t making any money,” Figueroa stated, as he pawned his Golden Gloves to help support his three year old son Francisco Figueroa III.
“I’m a proud father. My son comes first and boxing comes second.”
After walking without the trinkets around his neck for a year, a chance encounter at Madison Square Garden with a Golden Gloves representative awarded Figueroa for his sportsmanship. Impressed by Figueroa’s outgoingness toward the fans and kind mannerism, Frankie was given a replacement pair of gloves. “He appreciated that and sent me a new pair of Golden Gloves,” Gato said. “I couldn’t believe it.”
Not allowing himself time to tear up the Dollar Menu, Figueroa will return to the ring for the second time in a month, April 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida against Ilido Julio, 33-10-1 (29 KO). Despite his opponent’s lengthy record, Figueroa is unfamiliar with his foe. “I have no idea who the hell he is.” From a glance, it appears that Julio is a blown-up flyweight riding a four fight losing streak. Get to your seats early.
Figueroa feels that fighting often will help his conditioning in the later rounds, as well as keep him sharp. “I think being active will help me to be more fluid. When you’re in good condition, you start doing things that your trainer wished you could do beforehand, but now you could do.”
Fighting in quick succession back to back is something that has been foreign to Figueroa in his career. Layoffs have been a thorn in his side since he turned pro. He lists those stints as contributing factors in his 2 losses. “I’m not expecting inactivity time. But if it does happen, I’ll be in the gym, at home, eating right and playing with my cat.”
After Diaz, Figueroa will return to Puerto Rico for the first time in 23 years. The business at hand is a 5 week stint as a sparring partner with Miguel Cotto, helping to prepare the welterweight titlist for the southpaw stylings of cross-borough neighbor Zab Judah.
A “Nuyorican” born in the Bronx, Figueroa is excited about going back to his parent’s home country. “I always wanted to go,” Figueroa says, “it’s just that a lot of things got in the way. Money, my life, it all went in the direction of not being able to return to Puerto Rico. Now I’m going to see my culture and live it.”
While many fighters feel denigrated by being asked to work as a sparring partner, Figueroa sees it as both an “honor” and a “learning experience”. “I’m being called out by one of the top fighters in the world for sparring,” Figueroa says. “It builds my credibility and my confidence because I know that there are fighters and their teams who know about me and they want the best for their fighters, and for southpaws the best is Gato Figueroa.”
Figueroa brushed aside concerns about Sparring Partner Syndrome, assuring that his plane of thinking is on learning, not earning. “The sparring partner has a mindset where he’s just there for the money. He’s not worried about becoming a world champion. What I do is when I go sparring, I’m learning to become a world champion. I’m taking in knowledge from them and incorporating it into what I do.”
In the last few months, Gato has relocated from his native Bronx to Miami, a move prompted by the suggestion of his promoters, The Seeno Group. Living close to his promotional base has reaped many immediate benefits, such as much-improved training camps that provide him with nutritional guidance, chiropractic services, and a more intimate gym setting.
The hardest part for Figueroa was leaving his son behind, a condition that made the decision difficult. “[My son’s mother] gave me the okay that I could go down to Florida to help provide for our son, because in New York it was very hard.”
The change in scenery has given him the chance to focus exclusively on his career. Figueroa says, “It put me in isolation mode. I control what I want to do.”
However, the more things change, the more they stay the same. “The Bronx will always be home to me,” Figueroa says.
They say that a Cat has nine lives, and Gato feels that he’s expended three so far. Figueroa hopes to make the most of the next six.
Any questions or comments? Send them to me at mc_rson@yahoo.com
