Two Of Texas's Best Shine in Vegas

Two of the pound-for-pound best fighters Texas has to offer were on the undercard of Canelo vs Munguia at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. " El Azteca" Mario Barrios of San Antonio and Weslaco's "The Heartbreaker" Brandon Figueroa, were successful in defending their interim WBC titles. Barrios dropped and battered Fabian Maidana, the brother of former world champion Marcos Maidana of Argentina. WBC interim welterweight champion Mario “El Azteca” Barrios got off to a quick start, and an overhand right in the third sent Maidana tumbling to the canvas. Barrios, trained by Bob Santos, continued to box behind the jab and in complete control throughout the scheduled 12-rounder. It was the Texan that was putting round after round in the bank, but Barrios's right eye was swelling badly from the left hand of Maidana. Barrios had suffered from badly swollen eye issues in the past, and it became a race against time. Could Barrios, who was in complete control, have his badly swollen eye make it to the final bell? Barrios was unphased and continued to pour in right hands and kept Maidana away with his jab as he rolled to a wide unanimous decision by scores of 116-111 X3. El Azteca 29-2 (18), and successfully defended his interim welterweight strap. It is expected that Barrios will be elevated to full champion and will likely fight Eimantas Stanionis next. However, that is not confirmed. 

Also on the card was WBC Interim Featherweight champion Brandon Figueroa. The Heartbreaker is now 27 years old and was able to move his record to 25-1-1 (19) by stopping 32-year-old former world champion Jessie Magdaleno in nine rounds. Late In the ninth round, Figueroa drove  Magdaleno back into the ropes and landed with a thudding left hook to the liver of Magdaleno, sending him to the canvas and unable to continue. It was the 19th KO of The Weslaco native's career. The official time was 2:59 of round nine. The RGV native overcame a sluggish start Figueroa really got cooking in round five and had his man in the ropes and trouble, and Magdaleno was seemingly saved when a borderline punch was ruled low. Figueroa was undeterred and got back to work drove his foe into the ropes into the sixth, and unleashed a combination that had Magdaleno in the world of trouble. Magdeleno was never able to gain the momentum back in his favor, and the relentless style was just too much to overcome as Figeroa did not let off the gas until he finally ended the show in the ninth.

Mario Barrios and Brandon Figueroa added to Canelo Card in May

Cinco de Mayo weekend is long linked with boxing. The weekend has hosted major boxing events for decades. Most recently Mexican legend Canelo Alvarez has headlined the weekend. This year at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Canelo Alvarez will put all four 168-pound world titles on the line against Jaime Munguia in an all-Mexican Showdown. The undercard will feature two former world champions from the Lone Star State. Former 140-pound world champion Mario Barrios, 28-2 (18), will defend his WBC interim welterweight title against Fabian Maidana, 22-2 (16). Barrios last fought in September and beat down former welterweight world champion Yordenis Ugas and took a wide decision in what was the best performance for the San Antonio slugger thus far.

Also on the card is former Super Bantamweight world champion Brandon Figueroa, 24-1-1 (18), who will end a 15-month layoff and battle Jessie Magdaleno. Figueroa has been out of the ring with promotional issues since his highly impressive March 2023 win over Mark Magsayo. The Weslaco native has a big challenge with Magdaleno, who held a super bantamweight world title from 2016-2018. He lost his last fight, a 12-round affair with Raymond Ford, who has since gone on to win a world title. That was in April of 2023 on the undercard of Bam Rodriguez vs Cristian Gonzalez card in San Antonio.

Brandon Figueroa Back in Camp, Back in Ring in September

Weslaco native and former 122-pound world champion "The Heartbreaker" Brandon Figueroa is set to return and likely against WBC Super featherweight champion Rey Vargas. The world title scrap could potentially be held in San Antonio sometime in September. According to sources, Vargas, 36-1 (22), has fought his last two fights in the Alamodome, including his last fight, a one-sided loss to Orange, Texas native O'shaquie Foster. That fight for was for the vacant WBC Super featherweight world title. Prior to that, Vargas eked out a thrilling split decision over Mark Magsayo.

Figueroa, 24-1-1 (18), last fought Magsayo and won a lop-sided unanimous decision over him in March. Figueroa began training in San Antonio, at Leija Boxing X Fitness with young emerging trainer Ronnie Cantu. According to sources, Figueroa will finish up with Cantu this week and then head out to Las Vegas to finish his fight camp. The fight with Vargas will be "sometime in September."

PBC has the AT&T Center booked for a September date. That venus would be a logical home for a Vargas-Figueroa title fight. Vargas has fought there twice and has a growing fan base, and the RGV native lives just a few hours away and will have a huge hometown crowd behind him. The other possible slot for this fight would be the canelo-Charlo co-main event on September 30th in Vegas.

Brandon Figueroa Outlasts Magsayo! Becomes Mandatory for WBC World Title

Nearly a decade ago, "Panterita" Omar Figueroa of Weslaco put the Rio Grande Valley on the boxing map. He became the first world champion from the "valley" when he out-hustled and beat down Nihito Arakawa to capture the WBC Lightweight title. Nearly a decade later, with the 956 as one of boxing's newest hotbeds, his little brother, Brandon, will look to become the RGV's first two-division world champion. He secured the right to fight current WBC featherweight champ Rey Vargas by disposing of former champ Mark Magsayo at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

After somewhat of a slower start, a slow start for Figueroa's standard at least, the younger Figueroa brother got cooking in the middle rounds. Pressing forward and switching between the conventional and southpaw stances, "The Heartbreaker" began breaking his man down with body shots and hooks, along with a pinpoint uppercut that he landed from both hands from both stances. Figueroa's pressuring styles started to pay dividends as Magsayo was twice deducted a point for holding and clinging to the Rio Grande Valley native. Facing disqualification, Magsayo could no longer hold on, and Figueroa slammed on the gas and wore Magsayo down in a highly entertaining final few stanzas. Removing any doubt and swinging the fight in the south Texans' favor. With two judges scored the fight 117-109, and the third had it 118-108. As he now moves on to fight Vargas for his WBC featherweight belt.

Vargas found out what happens when you mess with Texas when he was outclassed by Houston-area native O'shaquie Foster for the vacant WBC super featherweight strap. He will now battle with the RGV native for his WBC belt.

An Incredible Weekend in South Texas

Three action-packed cards invade the south Texas area. Plus, Rio Grande Valley native and former world champion Brandon " The Heartbreaker" Figueroa headlines a Showtime card in southern California.

The action kicks off in Floresville on a Team Morones Boxing Card. A small town of about 7,000 people located about a half hour south of San Antonio will host a major card. In the evening's main event, two unbeaten south texas based bantamweights put their undefeated record on the line as San Antonio native Guillermo Gutierrez puts his 6-0 record on the line against Rio Grande Valley native Jaden Burnias (2-0-2) in the evening's main event. The card also features undefeated Victoria native, Ramon Acosta and Joshua Moreno, 2-0 will battle with Jesus Angulo Leija in a welterweight bout.

Boxing returns to the home of the legendary world champ Orlando and Gaby Canizales Laredo, The Gateway City. Triple AAA promotions will bring you a card live from Sames Auto Arena. Fan Favorite "Tito" Hector Ferreyro Jr returns to the ring for the first time in three years and will look to move his record to 5-0 as he battles Tre' Dobbins of Topeka, Kansas in a four-round Cruiserweight scrap. Also, on the card will be two up-and-coming Laredo natives Jose Cardenas (6-1) and teenage sensation the blue-chip prospect Felix Garcia.

Saturday's other card will be held in boxing's newest hotbed. The Rio Grande Valley. The Hynes Event Center in Mercedes will host the return of three RGV fight legends, each in separate fights. Raul Casarez and Roberto Garcia, who were originally scheduled to fight each other will be in action in separate fights. Casarez will battle for the vacant ABF Mid America Title as he takes on Rodrigo Octavio Gonzalez, who hails from the Austin area. Garcia will also be in action. Also, fans will get to see the return of hard-hitting cruiserweight and Harlingen native Raphael Murphy returns to the ring for the first time in nearly two years as he battles Leopoldo Reyna of Brownsville in an all RGV scrap.

In southern California, former 122-pound world champ and Weslaco native Brandon Figueroa will headline the evening's main event that will take place at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California, and will be aired on Showtime, Figueroa, 23-1-1 (18), held world titles from 2019-2022. The now 26-year-old is on a new journey to become a two-division world champion. He battles former featherweight champ Mark Magsayo in a 12-round affair. The bout will be for the WBC interim featherweight belt. The winner will be in line to fight WBC world champ Rey Vargas, who lost his bid to become a three-division world champ when he was shut out by Orange native O'shaquie Foster in the Alamodome last month for the WBC 130-pound strap. Vargas still holds the belt at 126 pounds.

Figueroa- Fulton Rematch in Play for Q1 of 2023

Weslaco native and former 122-pound world titlist Brandon "The Heartbreaker" Figueroa is closing in on a return to the ring in the first quarter of 2023. He'll likely take on "Cool Boy" Stephen Fulton in a rematch of their all-action 2021 scrap. Fulton, a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was awarded a very controversial decision in which nearly all observers agreed on two things. It was a highly entertaining "fight of the year" type fight, and the Rio Grande Valley native won the all-action affair.  Unfortunately for the south Texan, judges Tim Cheatham and notoriously atrocious judge Dave Moretti handed it 116-112 scorecards giving the unification bout to Fulton and giving "The Heartbreaker"  his first career loss.

At the time of the bout, both fighters seemed interested in a rematch. However the prospects seemed unlikely as Figueroa, who had long talked about the move, jumped up to 126, and Fulton was a newly minted unified champ at 122, and he would presumably want to stay at the weight class and defend his straps.

However, it appears Fulton is willing to move up to 126 to make the rematch with Figueroa. The deal has not been finalized, and no date or location has been confirmed. However, Figueroa has returned to camp in San Antonio, the same location he did camp for his last fight back in July. When he made his featherweight debut at the Alamodome in San Antonio and destroyed slick-moving prospect Carlos Castro in the sixth round to move his record to 23-1-1 (18).

Fulton has fought just once since the epic clash with Figueroa as well. In June, "Cool Boy" outclassed former unified world champion, Daniel Roman, at the Armory in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and successfully defended both his WBC and WBO versions of the Super Bantamweight belt.

Texas Pound For Pound Top 10

1.Errol Spence- Dallas

2.Jermell Charlo -Houston

3.Bam Rodriguez- San Antonio

4.Jermall Charlo- Hosuton

5.Brandon Figueroa- Weslaco

6.Joshua Franco -San Antonio

7. Vergil Ortiz Grand Prairie

8. O'shaquie Foster -Orange

9.Mario Barrios -San Antonio

10. Omar Juarez- Brownsville

Also Receiving Consideration

Austin “Ammo” Williams- Houston

Abel Mendoza- El Paso

Edward Vazquez Fort Worth

Ramon Cardenas- San Antonio

Michael Angeletti- Spring

Adrian Taylor -Dallas

Floyd Schofield- Austin

Hector Tanajara- San Antonio

Ray Ximenez- Dallas

Figueroa Impresses at New Weight Class, Cardenas Closes in on Title Shot

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). 

Four Texans Take the Ring at Alamodome

Four different Texans representing both the 210 and the 956 will have homecoming fights this weekend in the world-famous Alamodome in San Antonio. All four fighters must win fights and are in four very different stages of their careers. Most notably is Brandon "The Heartbreaker"  Figueroa. Figueroa looks to get back to a world championship and pound-for-pound status when he steps in the ring for the first time since losing a very controversial and disputed majority decision to Stephen Fulton. A fight no one thinks the Texan loss, outside of judges Dave Moretti and Tim Cheatham. Figueroa, the Rio Grande Valley native who made his hometown of Weslaco a household name the world over, will battle Cesar Castro in a WBC title eliminator. The fight will be contested in the featherweight division. Figueroa's first fight in the weight class and is just four pounds in the super bantamweight division where he held world titles. Castro's last two opponents, Luis Nery, whom he dropped a very contested decision, and Oscar Escandon, whom he stopped in the 10th round,  are common opponents with "The Heartbreaker", Figueroa,  stopped both men. A win for the RGV native will make him the mandatory challenger for the WBC featherweight champion, which will be determined in the night's main event between current WBC champ Mark Magsayo and Rey Vargas. 

Also on the card is the 20-1 (10) El Dinamita Ramon Cardenas of San Antonio is on the verge of a world title fight in the 118-pound division after his third-round TKO of Marvin Solano in Orlando, Florida, last August. He captured the vacant WBA continental America bantamweight title and was scheduled to fight in a title eliminator of his own. The 5th-ranked Cardenas was scheduled to fight Melvin Lopez, of Nicaragua. Cardenas had to pull out of the fight due to an injury. The 26-year-old  San Antonian is knocking on the door of a world title shot, one way or another, and a win on Saturday in front of his hometown fans might be exactly, what he needs to get a fight with the current WBA champ Naoya Inoue a fight with the pound for pound elite is something the rugged Cardenas welcomes 

Further down on the card are two youngsters, one looking to reinvigorate what was a sensational start to his career and the other looking to make a name for himself. Back in early 2020, San Antonio's Raymond "Tito" Guajardo was thought to be one of, if not, the brightest 154-pound prospects in the world. At merely 19 years old he sported simply ridiculous one-punch power and freakish man strength for a teenager. He scored one posterizing knockout after another. Running his record to 5-0 (4) Before he ran into party-crasher, Clay Collard, who dropped Guajardo early and then got up off the canvas after Guajardo scored rallied back and scored a knockdown of his own, and finished off the Alamo City native. It has been a tumultuous, two years for Tito, but all that is behind him now and the hard-hitting southpaw looks to pick back up on what was a once incredibly-promising career. 

Amateur stand-out and Donna native"X Man" Xavier Bocanegra looks to continue his success and just as the fellow Rio Grand valley natives Omar and Brandon Figueroa put their town of Weslaco on the map, Xavier and his little brother amateur stand-out, Ranulfo, look to make Donna, Texas, world-famous for producing world champion brothers. Xavier caught the eye of famed trainer Ronnie Shields, owner of the Plex Gym in Houston. After a sparring session that Bocanegra was highly impressive. Shields started working with the elder Bocanegra son and turned him pro. The Donna native made his pro debut a successful one scoring a unanimous decision victory, winning all four rounds on all three cards back in April on the undercard of Lubin-Fundora in Las Vegas. 

World Championship Boxing Returns to Alamo city

Big-time boxing returns to Alamo City! After the massive audience that packed the Alamodome back on April 9th. PBC will try their hand at the Alamodome without a San Antonian in the headline. San Antonio, is quickly becoming boxing's next great hotbed and has routinely produced packed houses. Including the roughly 15,000 that attended Garcia-Tagoe earlier this month. The July 7th PBC card at the Alamodome will feature WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo against former WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas.

Magsayo won the belt from long-reigning champ Gary Russell Jr back in January, and this marks his inaugural defense. Vargas held the WBC strap in the division below from 2017 till 2019. He won the belt via majority decision while traveling to the UK to fight Gavin McDonnell, in McDonnell's backyard. He defended the belt successfully five times before vacating it. He was out of the ring for nearly two and a half years, and returned in the fourth quarter of 2021, when he outclassed Leonardo Baez on the Canelo-Caleb Plant undercard.

So far no undercard has been confirmed. However, the many Texas-based PBC stars may potentially be included on the card. Omar Juarez hails from Brownsville and trains in the Alamo city, has been rumored to potentially appear on the July, 7th card. Juarez last fought in a thrilling fight with fellow Texan Ryan Karl on the undercard of Thurman-Barrios back in February and scored a decision victory and picked up the WBC international welterweight title. Barrios, a San Antonio icon and former world champion, has also been rumored to potentially make his return appearance on the card, possibly in the co-main. As has former world champ and Rio Grande Valley Brandon Figueroa has not been in the ring since his highly controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. The timing would make sense for each of these world-class fighters to be featured on the card.

World Championship Boxing Returns to Alamo city

Big-time boxing returns to Alamo City! After the massive audience that packed the Alamodome back on April 9th. PBC will try their hand at the Alamodome without a San Antonian in the headline. San Antonio, is quickly becoming boxing's next great hotbed and has routinely produced packed houses. Including the roughly 15,000 that attended Garcia-Tagoe earlier this month. The July 7th PBC card at the Alamodome will feature WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo against former WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas.

Magsayo won the belt from long-reigning champ Gary Russell Jr back in January, and this marks his inaugural defense. Vargas held the WBC strap in the division below from 2017 till 2019. He won the belt via majority decision while traveling to the UK to fight Gavin McDonnell, in McDonnell's backyard. He defended the belt successfully five times before vacating it. He was out of the ring for nearly two and a half years, and returned in the fourth quarter of 2021, when he outclassed Leonardo Baez on the Canelo-Caleb Plant undercard.

So far no undercard has been confirmed. However, the many Texas-based PBC stars may potentially be included on the card. Omar Juarez hails from Brownsville and trains in the Alamo city, has been rumored to potentially appear on the July, 7th card. Juarez last fought in a thrilling fight with fellow Texan Ryan Karl on the undercard of Thurman-Barrios back in February and scored a decision victory and picked up the WBC international welterweight title. Barrios, a San Antonio icon and former world champion, has also been rumored to potentially make his return appearance on the card, possibly in the co-main. As has former world champ and Rio Grande Valley Brandon Figueroa has not been in the ring since his highly controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. The timing would make sense for each of these world-class fighters to be featured on the card.

Weslaco Native looks to Unify Super Bantamweight Belts

Weslaco, Texas, is a non-descript Texas town located in Hidalgo county along the Rio Grande Valley with a population of about 40,000.  It is now becoming a hotbed for the sweet science as it is now home to two world champions. First Omar "Panterita" Figueroa captured lightweight gold when he outpointed Jerry Belmontes in an all Texas showdown in 2014.  Panterita ran his record to 28-0 (19) gained a reputation as one of the sports most entertaining fighters and moved all the way up to welterweight before losing a decision to Yordenis Ugas in 2019. Now it's little brother's turn, "The HeartBreaker"  Brandon Figeroa was thought to be too small and too weak to be a fighter by his father has proved everyone wrong on his way to becoming a super-bantamweight world champ and one of the top young fighters in the sport. The younger Figueroa brother has compiled a record of 22-0-1 (17) and just scored the best win of his young career in stopping undefeated knockout artist Luis Nery in seven rounds a career-defining win that put the entire 122-pound division on notice. 

The Rio Grande Valley native now looks to unify his WBC belt with WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on the main event of Saturday night's card in Las Vegas at the Park Theatre. In what is one of the most anticipated fights of the year. Back in August of 2019 the two-faced off after Figueroa had scored a spectacular fourth-round knockout in his homecoming fight at the Bert Ogden Arena, Fulton fought on the undercard and the two undefeated stars vowed to fight.  With Both fighters are coming off a career-best and defining win and now both being world champions now is the perfect time for the two to keep their word and square off. Fulton last fought the swarming, volume puncher Angelo Leo on the inside a tactic not many were expecting Fulton, a master boxer, to do. The surprise tactic paid off and Fulton dominated the fight scoring a lopsided unanimous decision. Figueroa will the fourth consecutive undefeated fighter that Fulton will face and is the 10th undefeated fighter Fulton will face in what will be his 20th fight.

Figueroa will enter the ring a 5 to 2 underdog and should he pull the upset and unify the belts. He will have a solid argument to be the fighter of the year, beating two undefeated world champions in just seven months. The fight card will be aired on Showtime and starts at 9 PM CST. The bout was originally scheduled for September but was pushed back when Figueroa tested positive for COVID-19 back on September 7th.

Figueroa vs Fulton: Moved to September 18th

24-year-old  unified 122-pound champion Brandon "The Heartbreaker" Figueroa of Weslaco is coming off of a career-best performance. A seventh-round KO  via body shot of unbeaten WBC super bantamweight champion Luis "Pantera" Nery. The Rio Grande Valley native was set to defend that title as well as his WBA strap against WBO champion Stephen Fulton on September 11. However, with the collapse of the Canelo Alvarez fight that was tentatively scheduled for September 18th. The historic, Mexican Independence Day weekend, that date is now open. The date has previously been filled by superstars like Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather, and of course Canelo Alvarez and is a bit of a tradition in the boxing world. The date is now open and can highlight two of PBC's premier young superstars in a unification bout. The bout will likely take place at the Park MGM’s Park Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada, and the bout will air on Showtime

The Heartbreaker is the younger brother of former lightweight champion  Omar "Panterita" Figueroa jr, the two train at Panteritas  Boxing Gym in Weslaco, which is owned by Omar Sr and then switch over to train with famed trainer Joel Diaz in Indio California. Diaz has trained 13-world champions