Photo by Esther Lin
Omar Figueroa Jr. (24-0-1, 18 KOs), the hard hitting former lightweight world champion is making his return to the ring against former two-time world champion, Ricky Burns (37-4-1, 11 KOs) as part of the Premier Boxing Champion series in Hidalgo, Texas. The fight will be airing live on CBS on Saturday afternoon, May 9.
Figueroa is looking forward to fighting on his home turf in the Rio Grande Valley since he has been out of action for an extended period of time following his bloody and exciting ninth-round knockout victory over Daniel Estrada at the StubHub Center in California last May on Showtime.
Doctors needed 16 stitches to sew up the nasty gash near Figueroa’s left eye, caused by an accidental head butt from Estrada. A lot has happened to the 25 year old since that cut opened up inside the ring.
First, the wound became infected, which caused Figueroa to be on the sideline for the rest of the year. Next, the WBC stripped Figueroa of his 135-pound belt to allow him time to heal his eye properly. Finally, after his contract with Golden Boy Promotions expired last September, Figueroa and his advisor/manager Al Haymon decided not to resign with Golden Boy after a deal could not be reached.
Needless to say, when Haymon announced that he would bring boxing back to network television, Figueroa welcomed the opportunity.
“This is great for boxing and for fans,” said Figueroa. “This fight will be in every home in America.”
Figueroa has fond feelings for the team at Golden Boy, but acknowledged he needed the change.
“I fight for money just like every other fighter out there and it’s about time I get paid what I deserve,” said Figueroa.
Figueroa pointed out the purses of the last card he fought on with Golden Boy and feeling very frustrated with his purse compared to other fighters on the same card.
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered”]”I don’t fight for titles. I fight for money and for my fans. Look at Sakio Bika when he fought Anthony Direll. Bika got paid $700,000 and I only got a third of that that night.”[/otw_shortcode_quote]
Figueroa hears the criticism of Al Haymon, but believes it is because people don’t understand him.
“Al works for the fighters. He wants the best for us. Fans don’t always understand because they want us in wars every time, but we are human.”
Figueroa went on to say that he wants a normal life after boxing, free of any lingering injuries and most importantly, “No brain damage.”
Another change for Figueroa will be his weight as he will step into the ring against Burns at 140 pounds.
“I am very excited to see how I feel at 140,” said Figueroa. “I want to see how I feel in there and how he takes my power.”
Figueroa said trying to make weight for 135 had weighed him down in the past and took a lot out of him. He knew he needed to move up to 140 for his next fight and convincing Haymon was easier than he thought it would be.
“I made my points and explained I fought at 141 pounds in the amateurs and he said okay,” said Figueroa .
Figueroa admits he didn’t watch Burns’ fight with Terence Crawford, where Crawford won a unanimous-decision victory over the very popular fighter from Scotland to capture the WBO title.
“I don’t always watch my opponents’ fights,” Figueroa said. “My style is so unique that it doesn’t matter what they did against another fighter.”
Figueroa said he will watch a few rounds just to see if he and his trainer can spot patterns, such as when they jab and how consistent they are.
Figueroa said he learned plenty from the Estrada fight and is anxious to get back inside the ring.
“I learned I can’t be so cautious. That’s why I got cut. I was waiting for something to happen. If I can finish the fight sooner, I must do it.”
Figueroa promises to be more aggressive than we have ever seen him and wants to look towards bigger and better competition, such as Crawford.
“Crawford is a great fighter,” said Figueroa. “He has good technique for an action fighter. If I get a chance to fight him it would be a great fight.”
Figueroa doesn’t want to look past Burns because he is a world champion and is only 31 years old.
“Some people are saying Burns is washed up,” said Figueroa. “I don’t believe that. I will train for the best Ricky Burns.”
If Figueroa did have to look in the future, he said he doesn’t really care who the opponent will be as long as it’s a big fight.
[otw_shortcode_quote border=”bordered” border_style=”bordered”]”Crawford, Lucas Matthysse, Ruslan Provodnikov, put their names in a hat and pull out a name and I’ll fight them,” said Figueroa.[/otw_shortcode_quote]
Figueroa said he is not fully certain what his purse will be for the Burns fight on CBS fight, but he said he expects to be very happy.
