Figueroa Outpoints Magsayo in a Battle of Former Champions in Ontario

ONTARIO- Calif.- Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa won the battle of former champions as he wore down Mark Magsayo with a pressure-filled attack and aided by a pair of point deductions won by unanimous decision on Saturday.

Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) moved up a weight division and found it to his liking as he used his conditioning to outlast Magsayo (24-2, 16 KOs) in front of more than 7,000 fans at the Toyota Arena to win the interim WBC featherweight title.

“I was relentless,” said Figueroa (pictured in the green shorts).

The former super bantamweight titlist decided to move up in weight from 122 pounds to 126 pounds and found it to his liking.

“I felt strong,” said the fighter from Weslaco, Texas. “I stepped on the gas and never braked.”

In the opening round both were able to connect with massive shots. Both seemed stunned but not hurt by the other.

The taller Figueroa worked his way inside and went to work immediately. But it was never easy as Magsayo was quick, strong and had a good chin.

“Every time I went to the body he held,” said Figueroa who discovered early that it was a weakness he could exploit.

Magsayo used quick flurries and ambushed the always-advancing Texan with rocket rights. But Figueroa seemed to be unconcerned for the most part.

“He was strong,” said Figueroa. “He did land some flurries and I let him so he would gas out.”

Magsayo seemed very uncomfortable with Figueroa’s pressure style and fighting on the inside. The Filipino fighter resorted to dipping his head down too low and holding. After repeated warnings by referee Tom Taylor, points were deducted from Magsayo in the eighth and 11^th rounds for excessive holding.

The final round saw both fighters open up and Figueroa show superior conditioning.

“It felt great to finish strong,” said Figueroa adding that the extra weight seemed to help.

After 12 rounds two judges scored it 117-109 and a third 118-108 all for Figueroa who wins the interim WBC featherweight title.

Figueroa said he will fight whoever comes forward.

“There are a lot of great champions in the featherweight division.” he said.

Middleweight Upsets

A middleweight battle saw Armando Resendiz (14-1, 10 KOs) win by technical knockout after 10 brutal back-and-forth rounds with former super welterweight champion Jarrett Hurd (24-3, 16 KOs). It was anybody’s fight and the Mexican middleweight prevailed.

“I’m really happy,” said Resendiz. “I sparred many rounds with champions for this fight.”

Both promised a Mexican war and proceeded to demonstrate immediately in the contest with Hurd winning most of the rounds in the first half of the fight. Short crisp shots including numerous right uppercuts connected for Hurd who was entering the prize ring for the first time in nearly two years.

In the second half of the fight Resendiz shook off a massive right uppercut and rallied behind a vicious four-punch combination in the seventh round that seemed to turn the momentum in his favor. From that point on the Mexican fighter who trains with Manny Robles began out-punching Hurd who seemed to wane in energy.

Hurd never stopped punching but the crispness in his uppercuts seemed to pack less zip and Resendiz began out-punching and out-banging Hurd inside and out. Though neither fighter seemed close to going down the Mexican fighter showed slightly more energy through the ninth round.

In the 10^th, the bell rang to begin the fight when referee Ray Corona stopped the fight and asked the ringside physician to examine Hurd. After a short inspection the fight was stopped at 5 seconds into the 10^th round due to a severe laceration in the mouth. Hurd’s face was swollen on the left side.

The judges had Hurd ahead on all three cards.

Teenage Middleweight

Arizona’s Elijah Garcia (14-0, 12 KOs) proved he was old enough to fight contender Amilcar Vidal (16-1, 12 KOs) and upset the undefeated Uruguayan middleweight by knockout.

Garcia, 19, a southpaw from Arizona, worked the body early over the slightly taller Vidal in a match fought in close quarters. Both fighter’s faces were red from absorbing blows.

Vidal seemed comfortable fighting at close range against the left-handed Garcia and as the third round began looked to be looking to stay away from the Arizona fighter’s blows to the body.

As Vidal pulled away from an attack he was caught by a perfect right hook from Garcia and staggered slightly to the ropes. That was enough to convince Garcia he had hurt the Uruguayan and he attacked with a furious 12-punch barrage including uppercuts that connected. Referee Jack Reiss did not bother to count and ended the fight at 2:17 of the fourth round for a knockout win for Garcia.

Other Bouts

Veteran Terrell Gausha (23-3-1, 12 KOs) ended a close battle against L.A. fighter Brandyn Lynch (12-2-1, 9 KOs) by knockout. Lynch stunned Gausha a round earlier in the back-and-forth super welterweight battle. But in the next round Gausha connected with a compact counter right cross that dropped Lynch with a thud. Lynch got up wobbly and was allowed to continue and was immediately hammered with three consecutive rights and down he went again. Lynch got up and was allowed to fight again and was blasted with four big rights and down he went again. This time referee Jerry Cantu stopped the fight without a count at 50 seconds of the ninth round. Gausha, who trains with Manny Robles, wins by knockout.

Milwaukee’s Daniel Blancas (5-0, 3 KOs) came out blasting the body and stopped Kynndale Prather (3-16) in the first round. A seven-punch combo to Prather floored the Kansas City super middleweight early in the round. After Prather beat the count, Blancas connected with a three-punch volley and dropped Prather again for the count at 1:53 of the first round for a knockout.

Maryland’s Travon Marshall (8-0, 7 KOs) survived an early onslaught by Georgia’s Justin DeLoach (19-6, 10 KOs) and turned things around with a withering body attack. By the third round Marshall took control and blasted DeLoach to the floor with a right cross to the chin. Referee Tom Taylor halted the welterweight fight at 2:07 of the third round.

Philadelphia’s Samuel Teah (19-4-1) out-worked Enriko Gogokhia (13-1-2, 8 KOs) and handed the fighter his first loss as a professional. All three judges saw Teah the winner 78-72 twice and 79-72.

Photo credit: Al Applerose

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE