We analyse the profiles and attributes of Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton as the pair get set for a highly anticipated featherweight rematch with the WBC title on the line.
There can be no coincidence that since the emergence of Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season we have seen stronger cards from Premier Boxing Champion (PBC).
The trend continues when David Benavidez faces David Morrell in a mouth-watering main event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on February 1. Boxing fans can also look forward to an entertaining undercard featuring Isaac Cruz, Jesus Ramos and more.
In the chief support slot, however, there is a world title rematch between Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. A high quality featherweight matchup four years on from their first encounter at super bantamweight.
Will Figueroa retain his title or will Fulton become a two-weight world champion and add a second win over ‘The Heartbreaker’ to his record?
Let’s look at the Tale of the Tape.
Brandon Figueroa | Stephen Fulton | |
Age: | 28 | 30 |
Nickname: | 'The Heartbreaker' | 'Cool Boy Steph' |
Height: | 5ft 9ins | 5ft 6½ ins |
Reach: | 72½ ins | 70½ ins |
Weight: | Featherweight | Festherweight |
Trainer: | Omar Figueroa Sr | Bozy Ennis |
Record: | 25-1-1 (19 KOs) | 22-1 (8 KOs) |
Last Fight: | W (KO) v Jessie Magdaleno (May 2024) | W (SD) v Carlos Castro (Sep 2024) |
Brandon Figueroa may never have a better chance to beat Stephen Fulton since their super bantamweight unification. The 28-year-old has been in fine form since losing to the Philadelphian. Three consecutive wins have Figueroa sitting pretty as the WBC Featherweight champion and he goes into the February rematch as the odds-on favourite.
Figueroa appears to have grown into the weight well after years of trying to make the super-bantamweight limit (122lbs). If form guides are anything to go by, Figueroa beat Carlos Castro in six rounds during his featherweight debut while Fulton struggled against the same opponent during his first rodeo at 126lbs.
The Texan is an evolving fighter who is arguably in his prime and Fulton’s struggles against Castro along with his heavy loss to Naoya Inoue could have him in a tough spot which Figueroa will thrive on.
Their first fight was a close encounter in which Fulton did well to eke out the win despite being hurt on a few occasions. Figueroa felt robbed but showed enough during their battle to convince many that the 2024 version of ‘The Heartbreaker’ will break Fulton’s hopes of becoming a two-weight world champion.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
Height/reach | Slow starter |
Relentless pressure | Defence |
Volume punching | Gets caught square on |
Inside fighting | Movement |
Before Stephen Fulton stepped into the Ariake Arena to take on Naoya Inoue in July 2023, there were many who believed the American could halt the Japanese phenom’s runaway success.
Eight rounds later they were proved disastrously wrong. Whether there were those who still didn’t believe in Inoue or American patriotism trumped common sense, they now know how exceptional ‘The Monster’ is.
It was 14 months before Fulton fought again. This time Carlos Castro was in the opposite corner and while he has mixed with good company, everyone believed Fulton would be too slick. Whether the scars of the Inoue loss still lingered or his eye was off the ball ,Fulton got dropped by Castro and was taken the distance before winning by split decision.
As you would expect, Fulton promises a better performance this time around. Against Figueroa we should see a more relaxed and focused Fulton who has the type of skillset to not only beat Figueroa again but go on and add another world title to the WBC one he will be challenging for. At odds-against it feels like too good an offer to turn down given his calibre and pedigree, but the question is what exactly did Inoue leave on him after his eighth round stoppage victory.
Figureoa and Fulton both have points to prove but the latter is the overall better fighter with far more dimensions to his game and Fulton to win on points could therefore prove to be terrific value.
Strengths | Weaknesses |
Counter puncher | Machismo |
Jab | Uppercuts on the inside |
Footwork | Vulnerable on the ropes |
Inside fighting | Invites pressure |