The Rio Grande Valley's own "Panterita" Omar Figueroa is set to return to the ring in a big way. The now 32-year-old south Texan is the older brother of Brandon Figueroa, and held the WBC lightweight world title from 2013 to 2014 and will now face off with former four-division world champion Adrien Broner on July 23rd. Reportedly, but not officially, in Chicago. Broner is one of the sport's most polarizing figures, having his share of troubles in and outside the ring. Broner last fought in February of 2021. He scored a lackluster UD over Jovanie Santiago. In a fight, most thought he was lucky to get the decision. Broner is just 4-3-1 (2) in his last eight fights.
The two were originally scheduled to fight in 2018 in a welterweight title eliminator. However, legal issues and a Figueroa shoulder injury sidelined the bout. Broner ended up fighting Jessie Vargas at the Barclays Center and settled for a draw. While Figueroa was out of action for another year and did not return to the ring until February of 2019 when he scored a unanimous decision in an extremely entertaining fight with John Molina moving his record to 28-0-1 (19). He has since suffered two consecutive setbacks and has not looked himself in dropping a lopsided decision to Yordenis Ugas and then being stopped by Abel Ramos last May.
Panterita was a fan favorite who rose to success and fame due to his all-action style. If he can rejuvenate his career and replicate the relentless aggression that made him famous he has the right style to beat and overwhelm Broner, who is very selective and at times reluctant to let his hands go. Figueroa expressed gratitude for the fight, taking to Twitter to say "First off, I want to thank Al Haymon for not giving up on me. I know I haven't been the best version of myself, but, that's because I was fighting against an invisible opponent! I hope Adrien has gotten his #MentalHealth in order because..."
The bout will air on Fox, so the fight will not only end a long layoff for each fighter it will also end the long layoff for PBC on Fox.