The fight fans of Ontario, California, were treated to a good one at the Toyota Arena, as Brandon Figueroa has become a two-division world champion winning the vacant WBC interim world title against Mark Magsayo, via a 12-round unanimous decision, on Saturday night, with the judges seeing it 117-109 (x2), and 118-108, all for Figueroa.
The early rounds saw no clear victor, but Magsayo had a bit more defense and control of distance as Magsayo slowly started to land clean punches that differentiated himself from Figueroa. The fight, not unlike most wars before technology was more about how the damage was received than it was dealt. As Andrew Jackson once said, ‘don’t fire until you see the whites in their eyes,’ during the Revolutionary War, neither Magsayo nor Figueroa would punch without being able to tell what color their opponent’s eyes were.
“Man, I just went out there and wanted it, I took the fight to him,“ said Figueroa who dawned the WBC apparel both hat and shirt in the ring. “I wanted this fight so bad, I dominated him, he came back with little flurries, but I knew once I caught him with a good body shot [he wouldn’t have his legs under him].”
The mid-rounds were more of the same as neither fighter separated from the other, but it did appear that Magsayo, who used nearly the full two hours afforded to him by the California State Athletic Commission to make the 126 lbs weight limit, was getting tired first. In rounds eight and eleven, Magsayo lost points for excessive holding, which seemed to be a mid-round tactic for Magsayo to negate the activity of Figueroa. The championship rounds were just that, as they proved to be a test of toughness, as Figueroa violently attacked Magsayo’s body in rounds 10, 11, and 12, in round ten Magsayo nearly took a knee from the pressure, and led to a Figueroa win
“Pressure, pressure, pressure, and as you guys can tell I tired him out,“ said Figueroa. “He was holding the whole fight, he was feeling the punches to the body, and I just had to apply more pressure.”
When looking at the fight stats per CompuBox, Figueroa was outlanded by Mark Magsayo as Magsayo landed 179 punches over 593 thrown, whereas Figueroa landed 176 punches over 653 thrown. The power punches saw Figueroa land only one punch more as Figueroa landed 161 power punches out of 528, whereas Magsayo landed 160 out of 464 power shots. With the win, Figueroa will now face Rey Vargas, the WBC featherweight champion next.
“I just feel strong [at featherweight], don’t stop, I don’t get tired, I’m relentless,” said Figueroa after the fight. “Whoever wants to fight me, I am next. I want more world titles, more world champions, and let’s give these fans good fights. That’s what it is all about.”
