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Let me say this before you read the article. A lot of boxing writers have been blaming PBC/Haymon for Figueroa's absence from the ring. The guy that wrote this article isn't even a boxing writer. He's a sports writer for a small paper. All these full time boxing writers speculating on why Figueroa hasn't fought but none of them bothered to pick up the phone and ask Figueroa himself? Or maybe they did pick up the phone and asked him and they didn't get the answer they liked, they couldn't blame Haymon.
An athlete for as long as he can remember, Weslaco boxer Omar Figueroa Jr. got used to being able to do anything he wanted physically. If he felt like going for a 10-mile jog, he could. No worries.
But even as he was running his professional record to 26-0-1 with 18 knockouts, Figueroa was struggling to have a smooth camp, battling hand and elbow injuries that kept him from getting in the ring at 100 percent.
So after fading toward the finish and hanging on to defeat Antonio DeMarco by unanimous decision in December, the former lightweight champion Figueroa decided to take a hiatus.
“My body, I felt, was just breaking down before my eyes,” Figueroa said. “It was kind of sad and horrific to see it sometimes.”
Figueroa used the opportunity to travel and spend time with his two young children, Sofia and Omar III.
He’s also been trying his hand in business, launching Panterita Promotions earlier this year. Figueroa had heard of a void for boxing promoters in Texas, so he interviewed with the proper officials, acquired a license and will be hosting his first event this weekend. The “First Annual Fall Fest Fight Night,” headlined by Figueroa’s undefeated younger brother, Brandon, will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Brownsville Sports Park.
“I was like, ‘Well, I’m taking a break from boxing and not doing anything right now, so I might as well just start my own promotion company and try to fill that void,’” Figueroa Jr. said. “That’s how it started.”
Figueroa Jr. said he’s the one responsible for funding the promotion, networking with sponsors and lining up fighters. He’s had a pair of friends handle most of the business operations, while his father and longtime trainer, Omar Figueroa Sr., has helped him with contacts.
When asked about the possibility of hosting an event in Brownsville, Figueroa Jr. initially declined, wanting more time to set up his first show. But his contact in Brownsville was persistent, and Figueroa eventually agreed about six weeks ago.
“The way they set it up for us, it would’ve been dumb not to do it,” Figueroa Jr. said.
Figueroa Jr. was at first planning on hosting amateur fights before his brother’s scheduled bout fell through, opening up the possibility of him headlining Saturday’s card.
Very quickly, more and more fighters started contacting him online. One of those was co-main event fighter Shane Mosely Jr., the son of former three-weight world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosely. In all, Figueroa said he had enough interested fighters to line up bouts for the promotion’s next two or three cards.
“There was no way of making it a small deal anymore,” Figueroa Jr. said. “It was way beyond that as soon as my brother joined the card. It just took off from there.”
In the future, Figueroa Jr. said he’d consider branching into the entertainment industry with Panterita Promotions, or at least exploring creative ways to fill the intermissions between bouts.
For this weekend, the focus will be solely on the boxing, with 9-0 super bantamweight Brandon Figueroa taking center stage against Raymond Chacon. Brandon’s father and trainer, Omar Figueroa Sr., described Chacon as “crafty” despite his 6-20 record. Chacon has lost 14 of his past 15 fights, but most of those have come against undefeated prospects, like Brandon, and all ended by decision.
Brandon is also still battling an issue with his nose that makes it difficult to breathe. Although he underwent surgery about six weeks ago, the problem has not been fully corrected, hindering his focus and forcing Omar Sr. to lighten up his training regimen.
“He’s just going to try it and take care of business,” Omar Sr. said. “He’s done that in the past two or three fights.”
After Saturday’s bout, Omar Sr. said Brandon will visit with doctors again to try to get the issue resolved. Omar Jr. said he and his brother have talked about then traveling to California for camp starting in November.
Omar Jr. has his sights set on a possible return to the ring in late January or early February, which gives him enough time to reach peak shape after putting on weight during his time off. Already he’s been ramping up his running and training to prepare for camp.
“I’ve enjoyed my time, mainly for the healing process,” Figueroa Jr. said. “I hope my body has taken advantage of this time I’ve given it away from the gym, and that it heals and I’m as close to 100 percent as possible whenever I get back.”
Figueroa Jr. said he feels great physically, but added that it will be impossible to gauge how well he’s really recovered until he gets back into the rigors of training.
On Twitter, former champion Adrien Broner challenged Figueroa to a fight in December, but Figueroa Jr. said getting prepared in time would be impossible.
“I can’t do anything right now,” Figueroa Jr. said. “I’ve been off for way too long. Even if a fight for December came up, I wouldn’t be ready. Not that I wouldn’t be ready, but mentally, I would not be ready. I’ve taken a lot of time off, and I want to make sure I’m 100 percent, in shape, and obviously that I have no problems with the weight, and just everything.”
Part of the reasoning behind going to California for training would be to ensure that his focus is locked in on boxing rather than relaxing in the comforts of home and family.
At age 26, Figueroa Jr. should be in his physical prime, prompting Figueroa Sr. to question his lengthy absence from the ring.
“I don’t understand my son,” Figueroa Sr. said. “He shouldn’t have taken so much time off. He has to take advantage of his youth and all of his abilities, that he’s at 100 percent right now. To me, it wasn’t a good idea, but he’s the one in the ring and the one training.”
http://www.themonitor.com/sports/aft...897f3337f.html
An athlete for as long as he can remember, Weslaco boxer Omar Figueroa Jr. got used to being able to do anything he wanted physically. If he felt like going for a 10-mile jog, he could. No worries.
But even as he was running his professional record to 26-0-1 with 18 knockouts, Figueroa was struggling to have a smooth camp, battling hand and elbow injuries that kept him from getting in the ring at 100 percent.
So after fading toward the finish and hanging on to defeat Antonio DeMarco by unanimous decision in December, the former lightweight champion Figueroa decided to take a hiatus.
“My body, I felt, was just breaking down before my eyes,” Figueroa said. “It was kind of sad and horrific to see it sometimes.”
Figueroa used the opportunity to travel and spend time with his two young children, Sofia and Omar III.
He’s also been trying his hand in business, launching Panterita Promotions earlier this year. Figueroa had heard of a void for boxing promoters in Texas, so he interviewed with the proper officials, acquired a license and will be hosting his first event this weekend. The “First Annual Fall Fest Fight Night,” headlined by Figueroa’s undefeated younger brother, Brandon, will take place at 5 p.m. Saturday at the Brownsville Sports Park.
“I was like, ‘Well, I’m taking a break from boxing and not doing anything right now, so I might as well just start my own promotion company and try to fill that void,’” Figueroa Jr. said. “That’s how it started.”
Figueroa Jr. said he’s the one responsible for funding the promotion, networking with sponsors and lining up fighters. He’s had a pair of friends handle most of the business operations, while his father and longtime trainer, Omar Figueroa Sr., has helped him with contacts.
When asked about the possibility of hosting an event in Brownsville, Figueroa Jr. initially declined, wanting more time to set up his first show. But his contact in Brownsville was persistent, and Figueroa eventually agreed about six weeks ago.
“The way they set it up for us, it would’ve been dumb not to do it,” Figueroa Jr. said.
Figueroa Jr. was at first planning on hosting amateur fights before his brother’s scheduled bout fell through, opening up the possibility of him headlining Saturday’s card.
Very quickly, more and more fighters started contacting him online. One of those was co-main event fighter Shane Mosely Jr., the son of former three-weight world champion “Sugar” Shane Mosely. In all, Figueroa said he had enough interested fighters to line up bouts for the promotion’s next two or three cards.
“There was no way of making it a small deal anymore,” Figueroa Jr. said. “It was way beyond that as soon as my brother joined the card. It just took off from there.”
In the future, Figueroa Jr. said he’d consider branching into the entertainment industry with Panterita Promotions, or at least exploring creative ways to fill the intermissions between bouts.
For this weekend, the focus will be solely on the boxing, with 9-0 super bantamweight Brandon Figueroa taking center stage against Raymond Chacon. Brandon’s father and trainer, Omar Figueroa Sr., described Chacon as “crafty” despite his 6-20 record. Chacon has lost 14 of his past 15 fights, but most of those have come against undefeated prospects, like Brandon, and all ended by decision.
Brandon is also still battling an issue with his nose that makes it difficult to breathe. Although he underwent surgery about six weeks ago, the problem has not been fully corrected, hindering his focus and forcing Omar Sr. to lighten up his training regimen.
“He’s just going to try it and take care of business,” Omar Sr. said. “He’s done that in the past two or three fights.”
After Saturday’s bout, Omar Sr. said Brandon will visit with doctors again to try to get the issue resolved. Omar Jr. said he and his brother have talked about then traveling to California for camp starting in November.
Omar Jr. has his sights set on a possible return to the ring in late January or early February, which gives him enough time to reach peak shape after putting on weight during his time off. Already he’s been ramping up his running and training to prepare for camp.
“I’ve enjoyed my time, mainly for the healing process,” Figueroa Jr. said. “I hope my body has taken advantage of this time I’ve given it away from the gym, and that it heals and I’m as close to 100 percent as possible whenever I get back.”
Figueroa Jr. said he feels great physically, but added that it will be impossible to gauge how well he’s really recovered until he gets back into the rigors of training.
On Twitter, former champion Adrien Broner challenged Figueroa to a fight in December, but Figueroa Jr. said getting prepared in time would be impossible.
“I can’t do anything right now,” Figueroa Jr. said. “I’ve been off for way too long. Even if a fight for December came up, I wouldn’t be ready. Not that I wouldn’t be ready, but mentally, I would not be ready. I’ve taken a lot of time off, and I want to make sure I’m 100 percent, in shape, and obviously that I have no problems with the weight, and just everything.”
Part of the reasoning behind going to California for training would be to ensure that his focus is locked in on boxing rather than relaxing in the comforts of home and family.
At age 26, Figueroa Jr. should be in his physical prime, prompting Figueroa Sr. to question his lengthy absence from the ring.
“I don’t understand my son,” Figueroa Sr. said. “He shouldn’t have taken so much time off. He has to take advantage of his youth and all of his abilities, that he’s at 100 percent right now. To me, it wasn’t a good idea, but he’s the one in the ring and the one training.”
http://www.themonitor.com/sports/aft...897f3337f.html
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