Cotto Still King of New York, At Least the One on Two Legs

Published

9 years ago

June 8, 2015

BROOKLYN,N.Y. – If Miguel Cotto were a baseball player, his popularity in the Town That Never Sleeps might not rise to the level of, say, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Derek Jeter, Duke Snider, Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays or Tom Seaver. But the WBC middleweight champion from Caguas, Puerto Rico, probably could make a case for holding his own, at least with the many Puerto Rican fight fans who have migrated to these parts, against countryman Bernie Williams, the beloved former New York Yankees centerfielder who played on four World Series championship teams and on May 23 had his No. 51 retired and a plaque honoring him placed in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park.

The 34-year-old Cotto (40-4, 33 KOs) ran his record in his home-away-from-home to 11-1, with six victories inside the distance, when he defended his 160-pound strap Saturday night on a spectacularly entertaining, fourth-round stoppage of former IBF and WBA middleweight titlist Daniel Geale (31-4, 16 KOs), of Australia, before an announced attendance of 12,157 in the Barclays Center, approximately 99.5 percent of whom were there to cheer on their sort-of native son. And they did just that, lusty chants of “Cotto! Cotto!” erupting before the opening bell and periodically throughout the one-sided bout until a buzzed Geale, who went down under three times (once in the first round and twice more in the fourth) advised referee Harvey Dock that he’d prefer to take the rest of the night off. The end came after an elapsed time of 1 minute, 28 seconds.

It was Cotto’s debut not only in the Barclays Center (he previously had fought nine times in Madison Square Garden, once in Yankee Stadium and once in the Hammerstein Ballroom), but under the auspices of Jay Z’s Roc Nation Sports, which signed him in March after his contract with Top Rank expired. The change of venue and promotional companies didn’t seem to affect Cotto’s appeal to his legion of NYC supporters, however, although they may be obliged to travel to Las Vegas or to purchase HBO pay-per-view subscriptions for their hero’s next bout against former WBC/WBA super welterweight champ Canelo Alvarez (45-1-1, 32 KOs) in September, as seems likely. Alvarez – who is coming off his own exclamation-point triumph, a three-round blowout of the dangerous James Kirkland on May 9, which drew 31,000 mostly pro-Alvarez spectators in Houston’s Minute Maid Park — is likely an even bigger money fight, and possibly a bit less dangerous, than a unification showdown with WBA middleweight ruler Gennady Golovkin (33-0, 30 KOs), who was at ringside and is fresh off his own latest kick-ass victory, a six-round stoppage of Willie Monroe Jr. on May 16 in Inglewood, Calif.

Given their large and devoted followings, in addition to their nationalities – the 24-year-old Alvarez is already a Mexican icon, and boxing history is rife with classic confrontations between elite Mexican and Puerto Rican fighters – Cotto-Canelo figures to be a must-see event.

“It is the biggest fight in boxing after (Floyd) Mayweather-(Manny) Pacquiao,” said Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya, who was on hand along with fellow GBP executive Bernard Hopkins on something of a scouting mission. “But the difference is with Cotto-Canelo, you will be guaranteed action.”

Michael Yormack, president of Roc Nation Sports, sounded as if the only thing holding up a Cotto-Canelo superfight was putting all the details on contracts and providing the combatants with pens.

“It’s a fight everyone wants to see,” he said, which certainly seems to be the prevailing opinion. “It’s a fight we’re going to make. We have the framework of a deal done.”

As Golovkin also holds a WBC interim championship, he is the mandatory for the more legitimate 160-pound belt held by Cotto, who also possesses the lineal and THE RING magazine titles. But Golvokin apparently is amenable to accepting a seven-figure step-aside fee, with the assurance he would be first in line for the Cotto-Canelo winner.

It is a heady time for the sweet science, with fights suddenly all over the TV dial and May-Pac shattering PPV records. But, boxing being boxing, even a feel-good moment as such transpired on a big sports Saturday, and is apt to be replicated in September should Cotto-Canelo take place, didn’t command the world’s, or even New York’s, full attention. A bit earlier in the day, just 19.7 miles away in Elmont, N.Y., a bedroom community in Nassau County just outside the Queens Borough line, American Pharoah became thoroughbred racing’s first Triple Crown winner in 37 years in leading wire-to-wire to win by 5½ lengths over runner-up Frosted. Over in the Bronx, meanwhile, Bernie Williams’ old team, the American League East Division-leading Yankees, were thrashing the Los Angeles Angels, 8-2, to extend their winning streak to five games.

But the full slate of other attractions in New York and around the world (such as a flu-ridden Serena Williams’ French Open title, her 20th in a Grand Slam event, two fewer than Open Era record-holder Steffi Graf), doesn’t explain why the New York Daily News, whose pages once were graced by the elegant prose of such distinguished boxing writers as Michael Katz and Tim Smith, did not have a single word about the big fight on the day it was to take place.

To be sure, boxing is like any other athletic endeavor in that somebody can find fault with what, at first glance, would appear to be a blemish-free performance. There are those out there (you know who you are) who contend that Cotto became the first Puerto Rican to win world titles in four separate weight classes by beating up a damaged-goods Sergio Martinez on June 7, 2014, and that he defended it Saturday night by forcing Geale, who already had been having trouble making the 160-pound middleweight limit, dangerously dehydrate himself by agreeing to a contractual catch weight of 157 lbs. Having made that weight with not an ounce to spare, Geale apparently went on a feeding frenzy like a contestant at the annual Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest on Coney Island, gaining an almost unfathomable 25 pounds in a single day. His sluggish attempts at coming toward, or running away from, the much quicker Cotto called to mind the plight of WBC super middleweight champion James Toney, who gained, depending on which version of the story you choose to believe, 15, 19 or 24 pounds overnight in yielding his title on a wide unanimous decision to the decidedly more mobile Roy Jones Jr. on Nov. 14, 1994.

“I think the weight had an effect for sure, but that’s boxing,” Geale rationalized after a lackluster effort that lowered his stock while simultaneously elevating that of Cotto, who was all but certain to become an eventual enshrinee into the International Boxing Hall of Fame regardless of what happened Saturday night, or will happen moving forward. “I signed the contract. I have always struggled to make 160, so this was obviously much tougher.”

The mini- or maxi-weight controversy aside, give credit where credit is due. Not all that long ago, Cotto was thought to be on the downhill side of an exemplary career, but he seems to have been rejuvenated under the tutelage of trainer Freddie Roach, who served as his chief second for the third time. Conversely, Cotto’s latest star turn is apt to restore some of the lost luster to Roach, a seven-time Trainer of the Year honoree by the Boxing Writers Association of America who saddled up the losing entry in a pugilistic version of the Triple Crown, with Mayweather’s two 147-pound belts in addition to Pacquiao’s one at stake.

“You’re the best thing that ever happened to me,” Cotto told Roach after Geale had been wolfed down like another shrimp on the Barbie.

Cotto turned away from trainer Pedro Diaz and to Roach after he dropped back-to-back unanimous decisions to Floyd Mayweather Jr. (which was no surprise) and Austin Trout (which was). It has been a mutually beneficial arrangement, not unlike the owner of a vintage sports car taking his pride and joy to an expert for the sort of restoration that turns faded glory into something as good or better than the original.

“He gave me the confidence I lost after dealing with two losses in a row for the first time in my career,” said Cotto, who has been punching for pay for 14 years. Asked what fight plan Roach had laid out against Geale, Cotto said, “The plan was to follow Freddie instructions all the time.”

Those instructions apparently called for extensive use of the left hook, which Cotto employed up and down the ladder to floor Geale in the first round and twice more in the fourth, although the hook merely served to set up the overhand right that was the capper of a flurry of punches on the last knockdown.

Now it’s on to Alvarez, a closer size fit to Cotto, who came in for the Geale fight at 153.6 pounds, a smidgeon below the super welterweight limit. Cotto said his team would probably try to set a contract weight of 155 pounds for Alvarez.

“It’s going to be just another fight,” Cotto said, matter-of-factly. “Canelo is just going to be another opponent. We’re going to be ready for him.”

If the site selected is Las Vegas, however, it won’t be just another venue. Alvarez would have the crowd on his side, with Cotto ceding home-arena advantage. Then again, true champions presumably pay little heed to such matters. Hopkins, for one, says he feeds as much or more off negative energy as he does off the positive variety. Still, Cotto is the franchise for New York City boxing, or at least the subset that has Puerto Rican roots and heritage. The only thing that might have made this latest quasi-homecoming better is if the Belmont Stakes had taken place the previous weekend, or was scheduled for the following weekend. American Pharoah wasn’t exactly the proverbial 800-pound gorilla in the room, deflecting attention from the 153.6-pound fighter deserving of a larger portion of the spotlight, but the 3-year-old colt was without question the 1,170-pound horse assuming that role.

“I am so thankful for New York, no matter where I’ve been in New York fighting,” Cotto said in a nod toward his most faithful followers. “People here have always been supportive of me.”

The guess here is that they will continue to be, right until Cotto crosses his career finish line. Bernie Williams, who was a Yankee Stadium favorite through his final at-bat, surely understands what it is to bask in that kind of love in a tough town that doesn’t yield its affections easily.

PHOTO CREDIT: Tom Hogan – Hoganphotos/Roc Nation Sports/Miguel Cotto Promotions

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Bernard Fernandez

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

Published

15 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

2 days 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.”

—

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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