10/07/2024
Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
Sources tell Brunch Boxing that a rematch between Stephen “Cool Boy” Fulton Jr. and Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa has been confirmed as one of the chief supporting bouts for the massive December 14 PBC on Prime PPV card. This card will be headlined by the explosive showdown between Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Lamont “The Reaper” Roach. The Fulton-Figueroa rematch, for the WBC Featherweight Championship, adds a huge main-event worthy bout to an already exciting night of action.
The first encounter between these two fierce competitors, held in November 2021, was an unforgettable battle that was immediately hailed as a Fight of the Year contender. At the time, both Fulton (22-1, 8 KOs) and Figueroa (25-1-1, 19 KOs) were undefeated super bantamweight world champions. Fulton walked away with a majority decision victory, unifying the WBO and WBC titles in the process. The bout, a Premier Boxing Champions event at Dolby Live in Park MGM, Las Vegas, saw both men throw a combined 1,786 punches over twelve rounds, according to CompuBox statistics.
Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
Throughout the fight, the action was relentless. In the sixth round, both fighters exchanged nothing but power shots, with Figueroa landing 36 and Fulton answering with 34. As the fight entered the 10th round, Figueroa looked to be in control, hurting Fulton with multiple flurries of punches. Yet, Fulton recovered impressively in the final two rounds, doing enough to win both the 11th and 12th rounds on two of the three judges’ scorecards. The final tally read 116-112, 116-112, and 114-114 in favor of Fulton, with the majority decision ensuring he walked away with the unified titles.
Even after the fight, neither man backed down from his belief that he deserved the win. “I was catching him in between every shot he was throwing,” Fulton reflected, adding that Figueroa made the bout “sloppy and rough.” Figueroa, however, saw things differently. “I hurt him like five or six times,” Figueroa claimed. “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.”
Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions
Both fighters left the door open for a rematch. “The judges made their decision and we can run it back,” said Fulton, while Figueroa didn’t hesitate to express his frustration with the outcome, calling it “the robbery of the year.”
This December, Fulton and Figueroa will meet again in what promises to be another barnburner. With the lingering controversy from their first encounter and both fighters aiming to make a statement, the rematch could very well steal the show.
In the years since, both men have continued to sharpen their skills. Figueroa has gone on an impressive three-fight winning streak, defeating Carlos Castro, Mark Magsayo, and Jessie Magdaleno. Fulton also claimed a victory over Castro in a September bout. Now, with both fighters firmly entrenched at featherweight, the stage is set for a rematch three years in the making.
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