A FITTING MONIKER

“The Heartbreaker.”  That’s what a group of preteen girls used to call seven-year-old Brandon Figueroa the first time he put on a pair of gloves to box in an exhibition in Rio Bravo, Tamaulipas, Mexico—a town just across the border from his hometown of Weslaco, Texas.

Older brother, Omar Jr., who was 14 at the time, was competing in the same tournament.

“My Dad says I was fighting another kid to give the fans a show. These older girls said, ‘Man, that kid is handsome. He’s a heartbreaker,’” said the younger Figueroa, a power-punching, switch-hitter with matinee idol looks and blue eyes. 

“From then on, whenever we went there, this group of girls in the bleachers would go, ‘Oh my God, the heartbreaker’s here.’ I’ve been the ‘Heartbreaker’ since then. The name has stuck.”

Following a brief amateur career comprised of going 33-17 and winning “a local Silver Gloves tournament when he was 8 or 9,” according to Omar Sr., Brandon made his professional debut with on May 9, 2015. He won a unanimous decision over Hector Gutierrez at The State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas. 

EARNING RESPECT

Figueroa moved quickly through the ranks. He rose to 15-0 (10 KOs) on March 10, 2018, scoring a seventh-round TKO of  Mexico’s Giovanni Delgado at the Freeman Coliseum in San Antonio, Texas.

Delgado marked Figueroa’s first of three fights in 2018. On August 4 of that year, he stopped previously unbeaten Luis Roy Suarez Cruz in 84 seconds. Then on September 30, he took a major step up in class, facing former champion Oscar Escandon at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.

Figueroa overcame a cut over his left eye from a third-round headbutt to drop and stop the Colombian in the 10th round of a toe-to-toe battle. It was his fourth straight stoppage win. 

Figueroa continued his ascent. On January 13, 2019, he took on former champion Moises Flores at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.

Flores (25-1, 17 KOs) stood 5-foot-9, and had dethroned the aforementioned Escandon as interim champion by split-decision in April 2015.  Yet Figueroa floored him twice in the third round, once with a left hook and then again with the right, as the referee waived an end to the bout at the 1:35 mark of the frame. 

STRAP SEASON

On April 20, 2019, Figueroa faced Yonfrez Parejo at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. On the line was the interim WBA World Super Bantamweight title. 

Parejo started strong, but Figueroa was up to the task, matching him shot for shot on the inside and beating him down to the body. By the middle rounds, Parejo seemed to be fading while Figueroa continued to gather steam. 

At the end of the eighth, Parejo had enough, retiring in his corner. Figueroa was now a world champion.

Figueroa successfully defended his title on August 24, 2019, knocking Javier Chacon out in four rounds. On November 23, 2019, he took on dangerous former champion Julio Ceja (32-4, 28 KOs) on the undercard of the Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz rematch at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, live on Fox Sports Pay-Per-View. 

Ceja came in at 126.5-pounds, nearly five pounds above the 122-pound limit and thus disqualifying him from challenging for Figueroa’s WBA Super Bantamweight title. The two engaged in a heated back and forth which ended in a spit draw. 

Judge Glenn Trowbridge had it 115-113 for Figueroa, Lisa Giampa had it 116-112 for Ceja and Don Trella had it a 114-114.

“I think I did win the fight,” Figueroa said. “He put on a lot of pressure, but I fought better in the early rounds and I finished strong. I feel like he won maybe four rounds out of the whole fight. I thought I won the first four and closed out the last few rounds of the fight strong.

“I basically fought a person in a weight class above mine tonight. I’m pretty sure if he weighed 122, it wouldn’t even be a close fight. We have to run the rematch back but he better make the weight.”

On September 26, 2020, Figueroa took on Damien Vazquez on SHOWTIME PPV. IA nine-month layoff, the longest of his career, didn't slow Figueroa down. Neither could Damien Vazquez, despite his best efforts.

The WBA World Super Bantamweight Champion turned in arguably the finest performance of his career, breaking the gutty Vazquez down and administering non-stop punishment until referee Gary Rosato halted the action to award him the victory at 1:18 of the 10th round. 

“This shows that I can fight under pressure, I’m strong and I give exciting fights,” said Figueroa. “That’s what fans want to see. I always leave everything in the ring and that’s what I did tonight.

“I’m ready for anyone, I know I belong with the best fighters in the division. I just want to give fans great fights.”

No Longer Slept On

On May 15, 2021, Figueroa scored a career-best victory and captured the WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship with a seventh-round knockout of unbeaten two-division champion Luis Nery Saturday night in the main event of action live on PBC on SHOWTIME from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

"It feels amazing, this is a dream come true,” said Figueroa. “I know everyone doubted me, but here I am with the belt. It's all thanks to hard work and dedication.”
 
The fight between undefeated champions lived up to its billing with Figueroa (22-0-1, 17 KOs) implementing his smothering strategy early, forcing a firefight with Nery (31-1, 24 KOs) from the opening bell. Nery appeared to control much of the early action. But it was the 24-year-old Figueroa’s persistence in coming forward that eventually began to wear on Nery. Better fourth and sixth rounds for Figueroa showed cracks in Nery’s armor and were a harbinger for what would come soon after.
 
In the seventh round, Figueroa appeared to hurt Nery early with a series of powerful hooks, as Nery altered his strategy and began to clinch. Continuing to press inside, Figueroa was eventually able to land the decisive punches in the form of a combination punctuated by a left hook to the body. Nery had a delayed reaction to the powerful body shot, but once he hit the canvas, he was unable to beat referee Thomas Taylor’s count, ending the fight 2:18 into the round. 

Figueroa’s triumph sets him up for a unification showdown on Saturday, September 18 on SHOWTIME against WBO 122-pound champion Stephen Fulton Jr., who joined Figueroa in the ring after the fight.
 
"We've been waiting for this fight against Fulton and it’s finally going to happen,” said Figueroa. “I knew I had to get through Luis Nery first. Everything has its time. I envisioned that I was going to beat Nery and now I see myself beating Fulton. I know he's coming with everything he's got and that we're going to give the fans a hell of a show."

A BATTLE FOR THE AGES

Figueroa and Fulton finally met on November 27, 2021, in a battle to unify titles at Park MGM in Las Vegas, live on PBC on SHOWTIME. The fight not only lived up to the hype, it exceeded it. The two super bantamweight champions warred for 12 rounds in a give-and-take affair. 

One judge scored the bout 114-114 while the other two had it for Fulton by scores of 116-112, making him the new unified champion. Observers were split on who they thought won but if there was one thing they all agreed on was that, in a fight like this, there are no losers. 

Naturally, Figueroa believed he deserved the win.

"I hurt him like five or six times,” said Figueroa. “I put the pressure on for the whole 12 rounds, landed the cleaner shots and hurt him. I thought I only lost four rounds at the most.
 
"It was the robbery of the year. The fans who watched this live know who won. I always come to fight and I did that all night."