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Brandon Figueroa-Chucky Flores Fight Sunday on FS1
Jab Hook's Foreword on the Match Ups – Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, January 13th, 2019: (Fox Sports 1/Fox Deportes): Brandon “The Heart Breaker” Figueroa 17(12)-0 vs. Moises “Chucky” Flores 25(17)-1, featherweights boxing in a 10 round prizefight.
This is a competitive match up between contrasting opponents. “The Heart Breaker” (below) is a blue-eyed, baby face who looks like a Beverly Hills heart throb, or maybe the lead singer in a boy band.
While “Chucky” really looks like the horror movie character “Chucky,” add a little ink and a bad hair cut and he gets kinda scary looking (see below).
The older, south of the border Flores is later in his career and has only fought 3 times the last 40 months. Things are getting desperate for him and this bout may be his best chance at a comeback. A clear disparity with Brando Figueroa, the 22 year old prospect from north of the border who has fought 15 times in the same 40 months. Figueroa is about to break out and follow in the steps of his brother Omar Figueroa, the former WBC lightweight belt holder.
Omar recently said that he hopes Brandon learns from his older brother's mistakes, in and out of the ring. The older Figueroa's career has sputtered due to injuries and a loss of focus as a boxer. It also doesn't help that Omar jumped 4 weight classes in his last 3 bouts. But brother Brandon is the good son, the sunny boy and the nicely developing prospect that looked special in his last bout.
September 30, 2018, “The Heart Breaker” vs Oscar Escondon was Figueroa's first time as the main event of a boxing show, and man did Brandon put on a show. Brandon chose a fan-friendly tactic by fighting the first four rounds with Escondon “in a phone booth”.
(Fans born in the 1990's or later try Google. It was small, standing box on the street with a coin-operated phone. Cool, huh?)
Working the body and blocking punches, throwing hooks and taking shots, B. Figueroa showed his chin, durability and discipline against a tough, but inferior boxer in Escondon. “Heart Breaker” started boxing more in the mid-rounds. Shifting stances at ease, he kept investing in body shots, wearing down his opponent. Brandon's excellent conditioning and high volume punching set the stage for the 10th round when a perfectly thrown right uppercut to Escondon's chin snapped his head to the side and put him out. In comparison, “Chucky” Flores only won a split-decision over Escandon 2015.
Moises Flores also once had a very good boxing career, but the last couple of years have been rough. Things started nicely when he won the IBO World Super Bantamweight belt by UD against Paulus Abundas in June 2016. Then in June 2017 he got a shot at the WBA World Super Bantamweight belt, great right? NO..
Flores was facing the premier boxing stylist Guillermo Ridondeaux and things went from bad to worse.
From the 1st bell on Flores went after Ridondeaux, but missed and missed again repeatedly as the Cuban wizard went through his paces. Then in the last 9 seconds, Ridondeaux attacked and landed a hard, straight left, winning the round with 1 punch. He missed a big one, then he held with his right, hooking to Flores' body at the bell. After the bell Rigondeaux shot a last left hook to the chin that dropped Flores. Confusion reigned and a KO for Rigondeaux was declared, only to be overturned later by the NSAC and changed to a NC (no contest). Bad right? NO, it gets worse. Another year of inactivity and wow, Flores gets a follow-up shot at WBA World Super Bantamweight belt in June 2018, versus Danny Roman. Flores failed to make weight and lost a clear UD. So now, instead of fighting for a belt, “Chucky” Flores is the “B” side versus a pretty prospect, literally.
Check NYFights.com later this week for Jab Hook's predictions on the bouts from the Microsoft Theater, Los Angeles, January 13th, 2019 on Fox Sports.
“Jab Hook”, aka “Brooklyn” Joe Healy is a boxing expert commentator for DAZN.de, a professional cutman from the BOXWERK gym, and a licensed referee/judge in amateur boxing. A lifelong aficionado born in Brooklyn and living in Munich, “The Sweet Science” is his passion. Please feel free to contact him as Jab Hook on FaceBook, at[email protected], or on Twitter https://twitter.com/BoxAficionado
