Brandon Figueroa will make his featherweight debut July 9.
BoxingScene.com has learned that the former WBC super bantamweight champion will return to the ring against an opponent who will also move up in weight, Carlos Castro. Showtime will televise Figueroa-Castro as its co-feature July 9 from Alamodome in San Antonio.
The 12-round bout between Figueroa, who is the WBC’s number one contender in the 122-pound division, and the fifth-ranked Castro will be a WBC featherweight eliminator for its 126-pound champion, Mark Magsayo. The Philippines’ Magsayo will defend his WBC featherweight title against Mexico’s Rey Vargas in Showtime’s main event July 9.
Figueroa (22-1-1, 17 KOs), of Weslaco, Texas, will attempt to bounce back from his 12-round, majority-decision defeat to unbeaten Stephen Fulton in his last fight. Philadelphia’s Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) defeated Figueroa on two scorecards (116-112, 116-112, 114-114) in a “Fight of the Year” candidate Showtime televised November 27 from Park MGM’s Dolby Live in Las Vegas.
The 25-year-old Figueroa wanted a rematch with Fulton, but he ultimately decided to move up to the featherweight limit of 126 pounds. Fulton said after his 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over Daniel Roman (29-4-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at The Armory in Minneapolis that he would welcome a second fight with Figueroa once they’re both featherweights.
Phoenix’s Castro suffered his first professional defeat in his most recent bout. The 28-year-old Castro (27-1, 12 KOs) got up from a first-round knockdown to make his fight with former WBC 122-pound champion Luis Nery competitive, but Nery won a split decision February 5 on the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios undercard at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena.
Mexico’s Nery (32-1, 24 KOs) was knocked out in the seventh round of his previous bout by Figueroa, who won the WBC super bantamweight championship from him.
In the main event, the Philippines’ Magsayo will make his first defense of a WBC belt he won from Gary Russell Jr. on January 22 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs) edged Russell by majority decision in a 12-rounder Showtime aired from Borgata Event Center. Russell (31-2, 18 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Maryland, was the longest-reigning champion in boxing before Magsayo upset him.
Mexico’s Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs), a former WBC super bantamweight champion, is the WBC’s mandatory challenger for Magsayo’s championship.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.