Former 122-pound world champion and all-action fan favorite Brandon "The Heartbreaker" Figueroa of Weslaco looked impressive in his featherweight debut. Following his very controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. He showed no ring rust in taking apart and handing Carlos Castro his second consecutive loss. After a feeling-out process in the first round, Figueroa got to work in the second and dropped Castro in the third with a left hook. The Rio Grande Valley native hit the gas and kept pouring on the punches and nearly getting the stoppage. Castro survived the round and tried to avoid the hard-hitting south Texan. However, by the sixth round southpaw's relentlessness paid off and he was able to turn his opponent around force him into the ropes, and unleashed a barrage of thudding and pin point accurate body shots that left Castro defenseless in the corner and forced the referee to stop the fight at the 2:11 mark of the sixth round. Figueroa moved his record to 23-1-1 (18). The bout was a WBC eliminator, placing the 25-year-old Figueroa, in a position to challenge newly minted champ Rey Vargas for the WBC featherweight strap and become a two-division world champion.
Also on the card was surging bantamweight prospect Ramon Cardenas of San Antonio fought in his hometown for the first time since taking a unanimous decision over Ramsey Luna in 2018. He boxed beautifully in a 10-round affair earning a unanimous decision over Michell Baanquez of Venezuela. The Alamo City native was able to fight off the pressure and nail. After a fairly even opening three rounds, Cardenas caught Baanquez with a left hook that wobbled him. He was able to counter his man brilliantly throughout the middle rounds. Stabbing him with the jab, avoiding the Venezuelan heavy artillery, and countering him with hooks and straight rights. Cardenas, like the consummate professional he is, closed the show out in impressive fashion, scoring with a left hook with just over 40 seconds in the bout that again buzzed his opponent to close the show. On his way to earning a unanimous decision victory by scores of 97-93x2 and 96-94. It was Cardenas's first fight with San Antonio-based trainer Chato Martinez. The two seemed to work well together and have a bright future.
Also on the card was highly touted prospect "X-man" Xavier Bocanegra hails from Donna in the Rio Grande Valley. The Blue chip prospect battered and outclassed an over-matched opponent by the name of Travis Crawford. The RGV native badly wobbled Crawford with a pair of left hooks and then jumped on his stunned opponent and unleashed a barrage of power shots that forced the referee to call a halt to the action at the 2;27 mark of round three. Giving Bocanegra his first stoppage victory and moving his record to 2-0 (1)
Fellow Rio Grande Valley native Fabian Diaz of Edinburg made his pro debut a successful one. Earning a unanimous decision and winning a clear-cut but hard-earned decision over Julio Gomez of Mexico, a very game and durable opponent. Making the young Diaz dig a bit in his pro debut.
Hometown slugger Raymond "Tito" Guajardo was also on the card and ended an over 2-year-layoff. He had to settle for a disputed draw in his comeback fight. Most thought Guajardo had done enough, but the judges disagreed and declared the bout a draw. Guajardo's record moved to 5-1-1 (4).