Brandon Figueroa, the top 126-pounder, became the mandatory challenger for defending champion Rey Vargas when he pointed out Mark Magsayo in March last year.
Then he waited. And wait. And wait.
Vargas remained idle for over a year after losing to O’Shaquie Foster in his bid for the vacant 130-pound title before cutting weight and defending his belt against Nick Ball, with whom he drew on May 8. 3.
Figueroa, who has been out of the ring for 14 months, is moving on, at least for now: He’s scheduled to fight Jessie Magdaleno on the Canelo Alvarez-Jaime Munguia card on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on DAZN pay-per-view.
“I guess he didn’t want to fight,” Figueroa, a former 122-pound titleholder, told Boxing Junkie. “…I spent all that time waiting. I could have fought someone else. It definitely messed up my boxing schedule.
“At the end of the day, I take the bad with the good. Here we are with another war going on.”
Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) has not been in a title fight since he lost to then-undefeated Stephen Fulton in November 2021, 2 1/2 years ago.
Since then, he has knocked out a competent Carlos Castro in six rounds in July 2022 and defeated Magsayo by a one-sided unanimous decision eight months later.
Magsayo is coming off a decision loss to Vargas, which cost him the title he won by upsetting Gary Russell Jr., but he remains a respected contender. However, Figueroa handled him quite easily at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
He started slowly but methodically wore down his opponent with his trademark pressure to win the first round, 118-108, 117-109 and 117-109. Boxing Junkie was closer, 115-111 for Figueroa, seven rounds to five.
The win didn’t lead directly to a title fight like Figueroa had hoped, but he made it clear that he’s just as formidable at 126 pounds as he was at 122 pounds.
“I felt like a lot of people looked down on me, doubted me, thought I was going to lose, thought I was going to get eliminated,” he said. Those are also the things I heard while fighting [Luis] Nery.
“It was a big step forward for me to fight Magsayo. People call him the next Manny Pacquiao.”
Magdaleno (29-2, 18 KOs) is also a former 122-pound titleholder who is coming off a loss, a one-sided decision to talented Raymond Ford last April.
There will be no major titles on the line but the fight offers a chance to make another statement on a big stage.
“You want to make noise, you want to cause a ruckus to let people know, especially in this weight class, that I’m not coming to fight,” Figueroa said. “I can’t wait to show everyone my skills and bring attention to the 126-pound weight class.”
And if he continues to win, he knows a championship opportunity – against Vargas or someone else – will come.
“Everything happens for a reason,” he said, referring to the match that awaits. “Last year I didn’t compete. I want to be more active, keep fighting, keep proving to everyone that I belong at the top.”
