You can’t call them phone booth fights anymore. So, substitute a fight on a postage stamp to delight boxing fans, with Brandon Figueroa scoring the upset victory in Liverpool to bring a championship belt home to Welasco, Texas.
Reigning WBA World Featherweight champion Nick “The Wrecking” Ball of Liverpool (23-1-1, 13 KOs) suffered a body shot knockout in the final round from a determined Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa of Welasco, Texas (27-2-1, 20 KOs) to win by TKO in front of Ball’s shocked hometown fans in Liverpool.
It was a compelling matchup on paper. To the delight of fans around the world, it was an all-action fight exactly as expected, although the outcome and the shocking ending was not the one predicted. Once again, a fighter of Mexican heritage pulls the UK upset.
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“I’m proud to be a product of Mexico. Being a Mexican American. I represent the 956, and I’m just grateful for the fans here in Liverpool,” said the new champion Figueroa, now a three-time world champion.
“You know, I’m just very excited to become champion again. Big shout-out to Nick Ball. He’s a great Liverpool champion, one of the best England’s ever had. Nothing but respect to the champion. You know, I just keep my head down and nothing but respect for him.”
Nick Ball Gets Off To A Strong Start
Ball delivered his usual firepower in the opening rounds. But it wasn’t long before Figueroa began to gain the upper hand. Still, Ball remains dangerous as long as he’s on his feet.
Figueroa was the more active puncher, but Ball’s wicked uppercuts were eye-catching, the sort of punches that impress judges ringside. Both are good body punchers and employed them throughout the fight. Ball is there to be hit, and even when he moves out of range, he moves straight back.
Blood began to trickle out of Ball’s nose in the second round, and flow by the fifth round. In a fight where stamina was a significant factor, struggling to breathe isn’t optimal.
Ball didn’t seem to be affected initially, at least enough to slow him down. He stood in the corner between rounds, and Figueroa and Ball kept delivering the punishment.
“You’ve got to take over. You can’t wait for him to engage,” said trainer Manny Robles after the fifth round. “You’ve got to start taking over.” Figueroa increased the tempo behind the southpaw jab, but Ball counters well, punching up through the guard from his lower angles. It’s why at just 5-foot-2, Ball is so sneakily effective.
Figueroa had plenty left in the tank and switched stances from his natural southpaw to orthodox and back to offer Ball a confusing palette to work with. He boxes well from orthodox and has a tighter defense.
Brandon Figueroa: Preparation Pays Off
But in this fight, it was all about the offensive output. Figueroa kept up a terrific pace, listening to Robles and throwing flashier shots with increased volume in the second half of the fight. Where Ball won the earlier rounds, Figueroa began racking up the rounds.
Entering the tenth round, it was anyone’s fight. Figueroa kept digging to the body of Ball behind the jab. Ball remained lively but slowed down just enough to give Figueroa an edge, trading roles to become the counterpuncher.
Prior to the final round, Ball appeared he might have run out of steam. It turned out to be the case. Ball was simply too tired to see and avoid the body shots at the start of the final round that dropped him to the canvas face down. Give credit to Ball for managing to get to his feet at all, but Figueroa moved in and made sure Ball couldn’t recover. He nearly pushed Ball through the ropes as referee Steve Gray waived off the fight just 32 seconds into the round.
Figueroa exuded confidence during the fight week and talked about how hard he trained for the fight. He credited his preparation with trainer Manny Robles of Los Angeles for the victory.
“I work really hard in the gym, being three months away from my family, from everything, and coming out overseas, over here 10 days in advance. Our strategy worked. That game plan worked. Big shout out to Manny Robles and the team, my father, my family, all the 956 back home. I’m just happy to become a world champion again,” said Robles.
Figueroa, the former WBC World Super Bantamweight champion, had to fight his way back to a title fight opportunity after losses to Stephen Fulton. He insisted earlier in the week he wouldn’t squander his opportunity and would channel his upset victory over Luis Nery to win his first title for a repeat upset against Ball. It’s exactly what he did.
Unification Fights Ahead for Brandon Figueroa
Figueroa said he looks forward to a unification fight against any of the other champions, including Luis Alberto Lopez, Rafael Espinoza, or Bruce Carrington. But Figueroa said what isn’t negotiable for him is bringing a fight to his hometown fans in Texas. Welasco, a town of 40,000 people, is at the southern tip of Texas, between Laredo on the U.S. side and Monterrey, Mexico to the south.
“I want to bring a fight down there, and then just unify. I always want the best of the best, but I feel like my fans back home, they deserve a fight. So, we’re gonna go back to the drawing board, reassess this fight, and get back to work,” adding a special thank you to his fans back home in Spanish. “I give my all in this ring,” said Figueroa.
Andrew Cain Delivers Sensational Comeback KO Win
Liverpool fans may be disappointed with the outcome of the main event, but they have plenty to celebrate thanks to Andrew Cain’s improbable comeback victory on the Queensberry Promotions card.
Cain of Liverpool (15-1, 13 KOs) had to summon every bit of grit and will to survive two knockdowns from Alejandro Jair Gonzalez of Mexico (19-7-3, 11 KOs) and take out Gonzalez in an early candidate for Round and Comeback of the Year, finishing Gonzalez with a ninth-round knockout win.
Cain was knocked down twice in the eighth round, taking punishment from relentless body punching by Gonzalez. But he was saved by the bell, and managed to summon the energy to recover and return the favor to win the fight in the next round.
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Thanks to the victory, Cain will now get the opportunity to face WBC World Bantamweight champion Takuma Inoue of Japan.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist and the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA). She is the Managing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.