By Keith Idec
Robert Guerrero expects a long, challenging night when he meets Omar Figueroa on Saturday.
The relentless, rough Figueroa figures to be in Guerrero’s face from the moment the opening bell rings at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Though respectful, the 34-year-old Guerrero sees plenty of holes in Figueroa’s game, particularly defensively, that give the former four-division champion confidence that he’ll win their 10-round welterweight fight in Uniondale, New York.
The Guerrero-Figueroa fight will headline a “PBC on FOX” tripleheader that’s scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
“He’s a very tough guy, volume puncher, can take a good punch, puts a tremendous amount of pressure,” Guerrero said during a recent conference call. “But there’s a lot of flaws in his style. There’s a lot of flaws you can capitalize on. But that being said, the type of style he brings makes things very awkward for other guys.
“The way he switches, the pressure he puts [on you] and the volume of punches he puts out, you know, it makes it tough for a fighter to adjust to that and really get on his game plan. Like I said, he’s a tough guy, he comes to fight, throws a lot of punches, he’s very awkward. You know, it’s about putting your game plan together and being smart, and not letting yourself fall apart during the fight.”
The 27-year-old Figueroa (26-0-1, 18 KOs) has beaten aging ex-champions Ricky Burns and Antonio DeMarco in his last two bouts, but Guerrero (33-5-1, 18 KOs, 2 NC) believes his mental strength sets the veteran southpaw apart from many of the fighters Figueroa has worn down during his career.
“I noticed a lot of fighters he’s fought,” Guerrero said, “with the amount of pressure and punches he throws, and his awkwardness, they tend to fall apart as they go through the fight. And then they start to lose their game plan. You’ve gotta be really headstrong in there and be able to stay on your game throughout the whole fight.”
Figueroa, a former WBC lightweight champion from Weslaco, Texas, will fight for the first time since he defeated DeMarco (32-6-1, 23 KOs) by unanimous decision in December 2015 in San Antonio. Guerrero, of Gilroy, California, is 2-4 in his past six fights and hasn’t boxed since Argentina’s David Peralta (27-3-1, 14 KOs) upset him by split decision in their 12-rounder August 27 in Anaheim, California.
Before Guerrero and Figueroa go at it Saturday night, Long Island’s Sean Monaghan (28-0, 17 KOs) will face Staten Island’s Marcus Browne (19-0, 14 KOs) in a televised, 10-round light heavyweight fight. The tripleheader also will include a 10-round bout between Polish heavyweights Artur Szpilka (20-2, 15 KOs) and Adam Kownacki (15-0, 12 KOs).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
