HOW HE DID IT: Mayweather’s Scintillating Display

Published

11 years ago

May 9, 2013

Lee Wylie

In what was his most dominating performance since mastering Juan Manuel Marquez back in September of 2009, Floyd Mayweather retained his welterweight title and kept his professional unbeaten streak going with a quite scintillating display of boxing against Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero in Las Vegas last Saturday night.

Despite now being 36 years-old, Mayweather showed no signs of decline in what was his first outing in little over a year (it was also his first fight since being incarcerated back in June).

After two fairly even rounds, Mayweather seized control (that’s if he hadn’t already done so in the first two, but more on that in a moment) and dominated the remainder of the fight to earn himself a unanimous decision, winning 117-111 on all three of the judge’s scorecards.

After 12 rounds, Mayweather (now 44-0 with 26 Kos) had landed an astonishing 60% of his power shots, handing a very frustrated Guerrero (now 31-2-1 with 18 Kos) only the second defeat of his 33-fight professional career in the process.

And so, for the most part of this analysis, I’d like to touch upon some of the things Floyd Mayweather did at different stages throughout the fight which allowed him to subdue a tough opponent in Robert Guerrero with relative ease.

Lead hand work against the southpaw

Because both fighters often find their lead hands and feet are obstructed by each other’s during a southpaw/orthodox clash, the jab is not always the easiest punch to establish. In this scenario, to land the jab successfully, the lead foot will oftentimes have to be positioned to the inside of an opponent’s lead foot. The problem with this, of course, is that one would be inadvertently lining themselves up with an opponent’s more threatening power hand. Therefore, during a mixed lead clash, the advantage usually lies with the fighter who can continually work their lead foot to the outside of their opponent’s, enabling them to better set up their rear hand while simultaneously placing themselves at a safer angle in relation to their opponent’s rear hand.

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Notice the contrasting body alignments and spacing in the two stills. When you have a matched lead clash (shown on the above left here between Mayweather and Mosley) the jab is the most efficient punch to land (longest weapon to the nearest target). When you have a mismatch of leads going on (shown on the above right here between our men of the hour, Mayweather and Guerrero) you’ll often see more body space between each fighter and also a lot of jockeying for position with the lead hand in an attempt to create a clearer path to the target. As a result, it’s often better to place more emphasis on the rear hand by stepping to the outside of an opponent’s lead foot. Simply put, the rear hand, particularly the rear straight, becomes arguably the most effective weapon for a fighter during a mixed lead clash.

To suggest that any chance of a Guerrero victory would be dependent on the success or failure of Floyd Mayweather’s right hand would have been a gross understatement to say the least. Without question, Mayweather is the owner of one of the best right hands in the sport and he has little problem making it work against orthodox opponents, let alone southpaws. Needless to say, despite being fully aware and as well prepared as he could have been for the right hand threat of Mayweather, Robert Guerrero couldn’t do a thing to avoid being hit with it almost at will. This is the mark of a true craftsman in boxing –it’s not only about how many different tools you can bring to the table, it’s also about how many different ways you can use a single tool.

So how did Mayweather manage to chop up Guerrero with little else apart from a right hand? Simple, he constantly set things up, creating false patterns for Guerrero to read before breaking away from them abruptly.

In the early going, and indeed, throughout most of the bout, Mayweather threw blinding jabs (or slow jabs) toward Guerrero’s lead hand to disturb Guerrero’s rhythm, control his lead hand and to disguise his (Mayweather’s) next plan of attack. Unlike regular jabs, a blinding or slow jab is a non-committal jab that is extended out and brought back without actually punching.

Here’s Mayweather throwing blinding jabs aimed at Guerrero’s lead glove during the early stages of the fight. Although its non-committal (the polar opposite to a thudding Sonny Liston stiff jab), the blinding jab is a great weapon to use against someone who is in an opposite lead to yourself (Guillermo Rigondeaux used it often to disrupt Nonito Donaire recently). As I mentioned earlier, when you have a mixed lead clash going on, you’ll see a lot of jockeying for position with the lead hand. The correct way to parry/cover/catch the jab of someone who is facing you in an unmatched lead is to use your own lead hand (the opposite of orthodox versus orthodox or southpaw versus southpaw where the rear hand should be used). Therefore, by throwing blinding jabs, you can occupy an opponent’s lead hand –discouraging them from trying to establish their own jab as well as manipulating the lead hand away from their guard to create openings.

Although the first two rounds were competitive on the surface, I believe Mayweather was simply laying down the ground work for his right hand. It’s what technicians do.

Execution of the right hand

I’ve already mentioned that Floyd Mayweather probably has the best right hand in the sport right now. But what does he do that makes it so special? Technically speaking, I’m of the opinion that he doesn’t throw it that much better than other fighters do. I’m pretty sure there are plenty of fighters out there that if you were to ask them to throw a straight right hand they would throw it with technical correctness. However, I don’t think there is a current fighter in boxing who has mastered the intangibles of a single punch quite like Floyd Mayweather has with his right hand. Sure, there are fighters out there who can hit harder than Floyd, but in terms of the set up –using feints and footwork to force his opponents into certain positions—and the delivery –mixing up the targets both high and low and narrow and wide in order to keep his opponents guessing as to where the next one is coming from, he may stand alone.

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As we’ve already discussed, here is Mayweather using his blinding jab to set up his straight right hand. Hypnotized by Mayweather’s snake charming lead hand, Guerrero barely manages to avoid Mayweather’s straight right in this instance. It should also be noted that Mayweather is throwing his right hand rather conventionally in this instance –his lead foot is positioned to the outside of Guerrero’s and his right hand is travelling from his guard with very little telegraphic motion.

Just as Guerrero was getting used to and compensating for one attack, Mayweather changed up and unveiled yet another one.

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Still working behind his blinding jab, this time Mayweather adjusts the arc of the blow and changes its trajectory. Whereas Guerrero had been anticipating straight right hands between the gloves earlier in the fight, Mayweather was now throwing right hooks around the guard. Although right hooks are unconventional and considered too risky for orthodox fighters to use, because of the sudden change-up and unpredictable nature of the punch, Floyd found great success with it. A varied attack, even one with the same hand, can keep an opponent guessing instead of punching.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t the first fighter to use it (men like George Benton, Nicolino Locche and James Toney used it first and were arguably even more effective with it than Floyd is), Mayweather’s (and Broner’s) use of the shoulder roll on defense has resulted in the technique becoming very popular of late. However, if there was one technique that Mayweather pulled off against Guerrero on Saturday night that best sums him up as a defensive fighter (or an offensive one for that matter), it was the way in which he consistently weaved out at an angle after landing his straight right hand. One of the main goals in boxing is to hit without being hit back in return. Therefore, an intelligent boxer knows that his job is not done once he’s finished his attack.

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Here, Mayweather is drifting to his right and toward Guerrero’s more dangerous left hand. Notice how Mayweather has conceded the outside lead foot position in this sequence as he lands his right hand. As fundamentally sound as Mayweather is, he’s still capable of doing unconventional things in there. After landing his straight right hand, Mayweather drops low and weaves out to his right, evading Guerrero’s attempted counter left. When you see this in real time (Mayweather did this extensively throughout the fight) you’ll notice that Floyd begins weaving under before Guerrero has even released his left hand. This is Floyd Mayweather all over –taking some kind of pre-emptive measure against his opponent’s most likely/dangerous technique in any given situation. In this fight, it was Guerrero’s left hand.

Mayweather continued to circle right, occupy with a blinding jab or feint, before landing the right hand and exiting at an angle. You could say this move of Mayweather’s, which took away Guerrero’s left hand and exploited his inability to adjust against a multi-faceted fighter, was the story of the fight.

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Here’s Mayweather pulling off the same offensive/defensive technique as before. Only this time, he’s using a straight right hand to the body. By going upstairs for a period of time before bringing the attack downstairs, Mayweather forced Guerrero to overcompensate with his guard. Regardless, the angling out –avoiding Guerrero’s counter left hand by weaving under and out to his right—was the same.

In his last fight before facing Mayweather, Robert Guerrero managed to maul a one dimensional fighter in Andre Berto and found little in the way of resistance coming back at him. Guerrero soon found out that trying to do the same thing to Floyd Mayweather at close quarters would be no easy task. Even though Mayweather rarely called upon his typical half-guard defense against Guerrero (a sign of his boxing acumen and Berto’s lack thereof saying as the half-guard defense out of an orthodox stance is less effective against southpaws) he still showed defensive mastery on the inside.

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Unlike Andre Berto, Here is Mayweather nullifying Guerrero at close quarters. Notice how Floyd has Guerrero’s lead hand tied up and is using his right forearm to manoeuvre Guerrero around and stop him from throwing his left hand effectively.

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Although this may seem relatively straight forward, Mayweather is actually smothering his opponent and is preventing him from working on the inside. In this position, Mayweather can’t be hit with anything clean as his right glove is protecting the right side of his face (a pre-emptive measure against Guerrero’s left hand) and his lead arm has Guerrero’s lead arm tied up. Should Guerrero manage to break loose and sneak something through, Mayweather has his chin tucked in for good measure. On the inside, much of the infighting success Guerrero had against Berto was shut down.

I could go on and write page after page here describing what Mayweather did to Guerrero last Saturday. Although I’ve touched on most things, I’ve still left out a few things, of which, I could probably write a whole other article about. Take Mayweather’s footwork for example, which, despite rumours of it not being what it once was, looked excellent. His persistent stop-start, non-rhythmic movement forced Guerrero to constantly reset himself or risk conceding an angle. Just as Guerrero would get set to punch, Mayweather would catch him between steps and nail him with the right hand and start all over. I could also have said more about the way in which Mayweather conditions his opponents to expect one technique before giving presenting them with another. In particular, after familiarizing Guerrero with the right hand for some time, Floyd began feinting with it and started throwing left hooks over the top of Guerrero’s lead hand, giving him even more to think about.

It’s one thing when you have a distinct hand and foot speed advantage over your opponent, but it’s something entirely different when you also hold the advantage in ring craft and IQ over them as well. Despite thinking Guerrero could have possibly done more to better disguise his intentions behind some rhythm changes and feints (just as Floyd did throughout), one can’t help but feel that should they face off another ten times, the outcome would always be the same. Robert Guerrero was soundly beaten by a superior athlete, a smarter ring general and a much better fighter.

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Lee Wylie

Boxing Odds and Ends: The Ryan Garcia PED Rumple and More

Published

3 hours ago

May 3, 2024

Arne K. Lang

Boxing-Odds-and-Ends-The-Ryan-Garcia-PED-Rumple-and-More

Canelo Alvarez returns to the ring on Saturday. His fight with Jaime Munguia marks his seventeenth appearance in a Las Vegas ring and his twelfth Las Vegas engagement on a Mexican holiday weekend. But the pre-fight pub has been beclouded by a more arresting news story involving Canelo’s stablemate Ryan Garcia.

Dan Rafael and his successor at ESPN, Mike Coppinger, were the first to report that the banned substance Ostarine showed up in two urine specimens collected from Garcia by agents of the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA). The specimens were collected on April 19 and April 20, the day prior and day of his conquest of heavily favored Devin Haney. The April 19 sample also showed traces of the banned drug 19-nonandrosterone, but apparently not a sufficient trace to express confidence in the finding.

A PED popular among bodybuilders, Ostarine helps build muscle mass and improve stamina. The substance, which has been found in dietary supplements, is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, an arm of the International Olympic Committee, and by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Upon leaning of this finding, “KingRy” took to social media to proclaim his innocence.

“Fake f***ing news…I never f***ing took a steroid in my f***ing life. I beat Devin Haney fair and square,” Garcia said in one of his many tweets. “I don’t even know where to get steroids at the end of the day…I barely take supplements,” he said in another. “I’m (going to) find out who paid to create this lie,” he said in a third.

Garcia’s promoter Golden Boy Promotions released a formal statement: “Ryan has put out multiple statements denying knowingly using any banned substances – and we believe him. We are working with his team to determine how this finding came to be and will address this further once we conclude the process.

Any sanctions imposed on Ryan Garcia will have to await the findings of his “B” samples. Reversals are extremely rare so the best guess is that the VADA finding will stand. The big question then becomes whether the New York State Athletic Commission will take away Garcia’s “W” and declare the match a no-contest. According to a bulletin published by the NYSAC in 2016 and updated in 2017, a boxer found to have used an unapproved drug, medication, or supplement is subject to various disciplinary actions including “modification of the official bout result.”

If the NYSAC changes the result to a no-contest, boxrec, the sport’s official record-keeper, would follow suit and Devin Haney would remain undefeated. Haney was 31-0 heading into his date with Garcia and considering his tender age – he doesn’t turn 26 until November – was accorded a reasonable shot of breaking Floyd Mayweather Jr’s 50-0 mark.

R.I.P. – Dingaan Thobela

Boxing fans in South Africa are mourning loss of Dingaan Thobela who passed away of an undisclosed illness on Monday, April 29, at his flat in Johannesburg at age 57.

Thobela won world titles at 135 and 168 pounds. He captured the WBO world lightweight belt at age 25, out-pointing Mexico’s Mauricio Aceves in Brownsville, Texas, and, 10 years later, in the twilight of his career, won the WBC super middleweight title with a 10^th-round stoppage of England’s Glen Catley in Johannesburg.

The WBO, founded in 1988, was a new organization with little cachet. Thobela abandoned the belt after two successful defenses to compete for the more prestigious WBA diadem. That led to two lightweight title fights with Tony Lopez, the first in Lopez’s hometown of Sacramento and the rematch four months later in South Africa at the Sun City resort in Bopthuthatswana.

Both fights went the distance. Lopez won the first meeting. Although all three judges (they were from Panama, Puerto Rico, and California) had the hometown fighter winning by 2 points, the verdict was highly controversial. At the finish, Tony the Tiger was all marked-up. “It looked, for all the world, that Lopez got his head handed to him,” wrote Sacramento Bee ringside reporter Mark Kreidler.

Thobela was nicknamed “The Rose of Soweto,” the reference to the ramshackle, all-black township in Johannesburg where he was born and raised. Although apartheid hadn’t yet been officially abolished, Soweto was well-represented in the inter-racial audience at the rematch in June of 1993 and there was dancing in the aisles when Thobela avenged his loss to Lopez with a well-earned unanimous decision.

Back in those days, flamboyant ring entrances were virtually unheard-of. Thobela may have started a trend with his outlandish procession. A tumbling acrobat led the way, followed by eight ring girls in colorful costumes and an African chief in full regalia. Thobela threw roses to the crowd as he made his way to the squared circle.

Thobela lost his last seven fights, finishing 40-14-2 (26 KOs) in a career in which he answered the bell for 418 rounds. At the time of his death, he was separated from his wife and living alone. Heavyweight contender Kevin Lerena was among those paying tribute. “Rest in peace to South African boxing legend Dingaan Thobela,” he wrote on Instagram. “Your talent and determination in the ring will never be forgotten. You always supported me and believed in my abilities, pushing me to reach my fullest potential. Thank you for your inspiration and motivation, Champ.”

Bazinyan

In case you missed it, Erik Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) kept his unbeaten record intact last night (Thursday, May 2) when his match with former sparring partner Shakeel Phinn (26-3-2, 17 KOs) at the Montreal Casino was ruled a draw.

Although both reside in Quebec, the Armenia-born Bazinyan was the house fighter. This was his sixth straight appearance at the Casino and his 11^th appearance at this venue overall. And as the house fighter, he got a little help from the judges against his Jamaican-Canadian adversary.

Veteran judge Pasquale Procopio had it 97-93 for Phinn who was the aggressor, constantly backing Bazinyan into the ropes. That tally jibed with those in attendance and those looking on at home on ESPN+, but both fighters got their hand raised at the finish.

Bazinyan is ranked #3 by the WBC and the WBA, a notch behind his French-Cameroonian stablemate Christian Mbilli. The WBO ranks Bazinyan a notch above Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs), which on the face of it is absurd considering their respective abilities.

Mbilli returns to the ring on May 25 in Shawinigan, Quebec with England’s Mark Heffron in the opposite corner. Mbilli is currently a 25/1 favorite. That sounds about right. His promoter Camille Estephan is notorious for matching his fighters soft.

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Avila Perspective, Chap. 283: Canelo and Munguia Battle for Mexico and More Fight News

Published

1 day ago

May 2, 2024

David A. Avila

Avila Perspective, Chap. 283: Canelo and Munguia Battle for Mexico and More Fight News

Prepare for Mexican war.

Guadalajara’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) fights Tijuana’s Jaime Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) in another Mexican war on Saturday, May 4, at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. PPV.COM and Prime pay-per-view will stream the card.

“I’m going to win, I’m going to prevail and it’s going to be decisive,” said Alvarez, a four-division world titlist. “I’m different. I’m Canelo.”

Munguia reveres Canelo.

“Outside the ring he has all my respect,” Munguia said. “Inside the ring, respect goes out the window. And that’s what is going to happen on Saturday night.”

If you know Mexican history, wars between different regions of that country took place even before Hernando Cortes arrived with his Spanish Conquistadores.

During the Mexican Revolution that began in 1910 you had Porfirio Diaz, Francisco Madero, Pancho Villa, Emiliano Zapata and then came Victoriano Huerta, Venustiano Carranza, Pascual Orozco, and Alvaro Obregon as players.

Fighting between regions in Mexico is not a new thing.

In boxing the 1960s brought those Mexican wars to California with guys like Vicente Saldivar, Cuban exile Sugar Ramos, Chango Carmona, and in the 70s Chucho Castillo, Jesus Pimentel, and the great Ruben Olivares.

Perhaps the two greatest battles between Mexican warriors saw Carlos Zarate and Alfonso Zamora battle in the Inglewood Forum. Both Mexican bantamweights held world titles and each were undefeated with all knockouts.

It was a madhouse that April night in 1977. During the action a wannabe wrestler jumped into the boxing ring during the action and was tossed out like a rag doll by a security gang. When Zarate eventually knocked out Zamora in the fourth, Zamora’s father chased after Zarate’s trainer Cuyo Hernandez right there. Explosions from cherry bombs rocked the arena and a mini riot took place.

Later, in the 80s and 90s, we saw Julio Cesar Chavez batter fellow Mexican sluggers like Jose Luis Ramirez, Rafael “Bazooka” Limon and then Miguel Angel Gonzalez who fought the great Julio Cesar Chavez to a draw in Mexico City.

These battles between Mexicans are never easy.

Canelo has been the top Mexicano for the past 10 years and among the best pound-for-pound fighters for just as long. In his career that began when he was a mere 15 years old, he’s reached heights never before attained by any other Mexican fighter.

His three wars with Gennady “GGG” Golovkin will be etched in history as among the best. His last fight eight months ago saw the redhead dominate Jermell Charlo for a win by unanimous decision.

Alvarez has one of the best chins in boxing history.

Munguia arrived like a burglar in the night. He was unceremoniously packed off to fight New Yorker Sadam Ali for the WBO super welterweight title in a New York card. Ali had just beaten the great Miguel Cotto for the title and was expected to have a long run. His first defense was against little-known Munguia and he was bludgeoned by the tall Mexican in four rounds.

The surprise win by Tijuana’s Munguia made him the toast of the country. He was barely 20 and many liked his easy-going manner and will to destroy once the bell rang. After his fifth title defense it was apparent he could not make 154 pounds anymore and moved up. Five fights later he could not make 160 pounds. Now he’s at 168 pounds but one man holds all the belts and that’s fellow countryman Canelo Alvarez.

Like Canelo, Munguia has one of the best chins in boxing.

“Canelo is a great fighter with experience against great fighters,” Munguia said. “But what I have is youth on my side.”

Since working under Erik Morales and now Freddie Roach, his technique in defensive skills has improved dramatically from his days as a super welterweight. Back then Munguia would take a sledge-hammer blow or two and then return with a barrage of his own.

Last year Munguia fought the feared Sergiy Derevyanchenko through 12 of the most savage rounds ever seen. It was the Fight of the Year and established the Tijuana fighter as someone worthy of watching.

“You can expect a full-out Mexican war,” said Munguia during the press conference on Wednesday.

“I’m very proud to be here and to make history with both Mexican fighters fighting for the four belts for the first time,” said Alvarez the undisputed super middleweight champion.

Although this is a battle between Mexicans the whole boxing world will be watching.

PPV.COM

Jim Lampley leads his crew again on the Canelo-Munguia fight card on Saturday May 4. The famed boxing analyst will be doing a play-by-play of the fights and also participating via text. Accompanying him will be Lance Pugmire, Chris Algieri and Dan Canobbio.

During the past nine months they’ve covered several of the best boxing cards. Lampley has a unique style and has covered the biggest fight events in the past five decades.

Riverside Fights

Undefeated middleweight prospect Raul Lizarraga leads a Red Boxing card on Friday May 3, at the Riverside Municipal Auditorium in downtown Riverside, Calif.

Lizarraga (12-0, 12 KOs) meets Puerto Rico’s Marcos Osorio-Betancourt (11-1-1, 8 KOs) in the main event for a regional title. There are seven other bouts tentatively scheduled. Doors open at 5 p.m. For tickets go to Ticketmaster.com.

Monster Inoue

Japan’s Naoya “Monster” Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) defends the super bantamweight championship against Mexico’s Luis “Pantera” Nery (35-1, 27 KOs) on Monday. May 6, at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo. ESPN + will stream the Top Rank card that begins at 1 a.m.

Many rate Inoue the top fighter pound-for-pound. His destruction of titleholders Marlon Tapales and Stephen Fulton were clear samples of his overall superiority in his weight division. At 31, he faces two-division champion Nery who recently engaged in a riveting battle against Azat Hovhannisyan in Southern California.

The card also features three other world title bouts.

Fights to Watch

Sat. PPV.Com, Prime PPV 5 p.m. Saul Alvarez (60-2-2) vs Jaime Munguia (43-0). Brandon Figueroa (24-1-1) vs Jesse Magdaleno (29-2); Mario Barrios (28-2) vs Fabian Maidana (22-2); Eimantas Stanionis (14-0) vs Gabriel Maestre (6-0-1).

Mon. ESPN+ 1 a.m. Naoya Inoue (26-0) vs Luis Nery (35-1); Jason Moloney (27-2) vs Yoshiki Takei (8-0); Takuma Inoue (19-1) vs Sho Ishida (34-3); Seigo Yuri Akui (19-2-1) vs Taku Kuwahara (13-1).

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A Closer Look at Weslaco ‘Heartbreaker’ Brandon Figueroa and an Early Peek at Inoue vs Nery

Published

3 days ago

April 30, 2024

Arne K. Lang

A Closer Look at Weslaco ‘Heartbreaker’ Brandon Figueroa and an Early Peek at Inoue vs Nery

Brandon Figueroa returns to the ring on Saturday after a 14-month absence. He meets Jessie Magdaleno in a 12-round featherweight affair at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas with the winner potentially headed to a match with Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue. Figueroa vs. Magdaleno will be part of the four-fight pay-per-view telecast topped by Canelo Alvarez’s super middleweight title defense against Jaime Munguia.

Akin to Magdaleno, Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) is a former super bantamweight (122-pound) champion. He won the WBA version of the world title with a 10^th-round stoppage of Damien Vazquez and added the WBC belt with a seventh-round KO of previously undefeated Luis Nery who fights Inoue this coming Monday at the “Big Egg” in Tokyo.

Throughout history, many prominent boxers have been identified with the place that hewed them. Students of boxing history can identify the Saginaw Kid, the Terror Haute Terror, the Cincinnati Cobra – the list is long – and even casual fans can name the Brockton Blockbuster, the immortal Rocky Marciano.

Brandon Figueroa hails from Weslaco, a small city in the southern tip of Texas. It is part of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, commonly abbreviated RGV, and the locals feel an emotional tie to the entire valley, a place where the unofficial language among the adult population is Spanglish, a melding of Spanish and English.

Brandon’s older brother Omar Figueroa Jr, who retired in 2022 with a record of 28-3-1 after losing his last three fights, became a local hero after becoming the first boxer from the Valley to win a world title, in his case the WBC lightweight diadem. Brandon, 27, has the opportunity to out-do him by becoming the first boxer from the Valley to win titles in two weight divisions.

The brothers were introduced to boxing by their father, Omar Figueroa Sr. A mailman now in his twenty-seventh year working for the U.S. Postal Service, the elder Figueroa never boxed but followed the sport closely and hoped that one of his sons would follow in the footsteps of his sporting heroes Julio Cesar Chavez and the late Salvador Sanchez. Brandon borrowed a page from the Chavez playbook when he scored his signature win over Luis Nery. A left to the solar plexus ended the match. Nery replied with a sweeping left hook, but it was all instinct. In a delayed reaction, he crumpled to the canvas after launching the errant punch and was counted out.

Although Omar Sr has a picture in his cell phone of Brandon in fighting togs when Brandon was two years old, he insists that he discouraged his younger son from pursuing a career in boxing. “He was too skinny and didn’t have Omar’s natural talent,” the elder Figueroa told this reporter when we chatted at Las Vegas’ Pound4Pound Boxing Gym. “Then, when Brandon was about 12 or 13, he started hurting bigger boys with punches to the body in sparring and I thought, hold on, maybe I have something here.”

Omar Sr. opened a gym, Pantera Boxing, to give his sons a leg up and eventually enough kids from the neighborhood started coming by to field an amateur boxing team.

Omar Figueroa Sr was born in Northern Mexico and came to the United States at age nine. Many of his siblings – he was one of nine children — reside in Mexico but close enough for family get-togethers. The Figueroa family has crossed the international bridge that connects the two countries on many occasions. Returning to Weslaco, they share the span with border-crossers seeking refuge in the United States.

“One of the things I’ve noticed,” says Brandon, “is that there are a lot more Europeans crossing over that bridge into the U.S. than we used to see, especially people from countries like Russia and Ukraine.”

About that nickname: Brandon acquired it while visiting relatives in Rio Bravo, Mexico, situated roughly 18 miles from Weslaco. He was just a boy, perhaps 11 or 12, and it was teenage or pre-teen girls who affixed the “Heartbreaker” label to him. Indeed, in the looks department, he could give Ryan Garcia a run for his money. (Back off, ladies, Brandon has a steady girlfriend.)

Brandon Figueroa doesn’t want boxing to define him. “I’m also a businessman,” he says, noting that he owns several parcels of Weslaco real estate and owns stock in one of his sponsors, LOCK’DIN, a start-up, high-performance beverage company whose Board of Directors includes Manny Pacquiao.

Brandon Pacquiao

In high school, Brandon took classes in theater. He has a role in a forthcoming Amazon Prime movie, “Find Me,” and a starring role in the first episode of the reconstituted “Tales from the Crypt” which will air on HBO Max.

When Brandon quits boxing, will Hollywood beckon? “I can’t imagine settling down anywhere but in the Valley,” he says. “The Valley will always be a part of me.”

In his last outing, Figueroa won an interim WBC featherweight title with a lopsided decision over Mark Magsayo. In theory, that boosted him into a fight with Rey Vargas who was allowed to keep his WBC featherweight title after moving up to 130 where he suffered his first defeat at the hands of O’Shaquie Foster. But in boxing, “money” trumps “mandatory” and Vargas jumped at the chance to fight in Saudi Arabia where he was fortunate to retain his title when he received a draw in his match with Liverpool’s Nick Ball.

The most lucrative fight out there would be a match with four-belt super bantamweight champion and pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue who has expressed an interest in moving up to featherweight after disposing of Luis Nery. Yes, that’s putting the cart before the horse, but Brandon Figueroa thinks the challenger from Tijuana, despite his impressive record (35-1-1, 27 KOs) has scant chance of winning. “I found a hole in Nery’s style,” he said, “and knew that once fatigue set in for him, he would be mine.”

Inoue vs. Nery is a very big deal in Japan in part because there’s a hero and a villain. Luis Nery is the only man to defeat the popular Shinsuke Yamanaka, a long-reigning title-holder who quit the sport after Nery knocked him out twice. After their first meeting, Nery’s “A” and “B” samples tested positive for a banned substance and he came in three pounds overweight for the rematch (a substantial edge in a small weight class), for which he was suspended and dropped from the WBC rankings. Nery, wrote TSS correspondent Tamas Pradarics, “repeatedly cheated on the Japanese in ugly and disgusting ways,” and the Japanese haven’t forgotten.

If Brandon Figueroa goes off to Japan some day to oppose Naoya Inoue, it will take some doing to contort him into a villain. “I love the Japanese people and the Japanese culture,” he says, “the whole Samurai thing which is so in tune with the warrior spirit of Mexicans.”

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The pay-per-view portion of Saturday’s show is available for purchase on various cable and satellite platforms including Prime Video, DAZN.com, and PPV.com. First bell is slated for 8 pm ET/5 pm PT.

Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno will be the second bout on the four-fight PPV program. It will follow the WBA world welterweight title fight between Eimantas Stanionis and Gabriel Maestre and will precede the WBC interim world welterweight title fight between Mario Barrios and Fabian Maidana.

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