Via Craig Daly: Recently dethroned former WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo and former WBA/WBC super bantamweight champion Brandon Figueroa are finalizing a deal for them to fight at 126th.
It’s unclear if the interim WBC featherweight belt will be ready for the Figueroa-Magsayo bout, as current champion Rey Vargas is moving up to super featherweight to face O’Shaquie Foster on February 11 for the WBC. 130 lbs available. champion, he could choose to stay in that division and drop his 126 lb belt.
The WBC ordered Figueroa (23-1-1, 18 KOs) to fight Stephen Fulton for a provisional 126 lb belt, but Stephen chose to stay at 122 for the time being to defend against the next Naoya Inoue.
Salvador Rodríguez of ESPN Deportes was the first news of the negotiations between Figueroa and Magsayo.
Magsayo (24-1, 16 KOs) lost the WBC featherweight belt in 12 deciding rounds to Rey Vargas last July in San Antonio, Texas.
The loss ended Magsayo’s brief six-month reign as the 126 lb WBC champion after he previously defeated longtime champion Gary Russell Jr by majority decision in 12 rounds last January in a melee fight.
Russell, 34, has held the WBC belt for an incredible seven years, but he only defended it six times due to his rare defense decision.
Most boxing fans would agree that if Russell Jr hadn’t suffered an arm injury, he could have beaten Magsayo because he did a pretty good job of holding himself with one hand. You can only imagine what Russell would do if he was 100% healthy.
Figueroa, 26, lost the WBC super bantamweight title to Stephen Fulton after 12 rounds by majority in November 2021. Since that defeat, Figueroa has fought only once, defeating Carlos Castro by knockout. live in the sixth round last July at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
Depending on how much of a loss to Fulton against Figueroa, he must have enough boxing skills to defeat Magsayo. With that said, Magsayo has great strength, and he can make it difficult for Figueroa in a fight.
Figueroa wins his skirmishes with high-volume attacks, which will put him in danger of powerful hits from Magsayo. This is one of those fights that is difficult to predict as both fighters bring different elements into their game.
