Golden Boy Strikes Gold In Omar Figueroa

by Gautham Nagesh

Lightweight prospect Omar Figueroa of Weslaco, Texas is an unbeaten, bilingual Hispanic American that looks like a matinee idol and fights with a chip on his shoulder. In other words, every promoter’s dream. We were fairly impressed with his performance against Eric Cruz on Solo Boxeo last June and loved his fighting spirit. But apparently, his promoter Golden Boy wasn’t sold on his potential going into his January fight against highly-regarded Newark prospect Michael Perez on ShoBox.

If Golden Boy did have any doubts about Figueroa, they should have been eased significantly by his gritty sixth-round stoppage of Perez. “Panterita” took over the fight and imposed his will on the touted Perez, showing tremendous will and ferocious body-punching. Figueroa’s pressure and relentless attack forced Perez to retire on his stool after the sixth round. Suddenly, it looked like Golden Boy may have stumbled onto something in the young Texan.

Figueroa returned to the scene of the Perez win on March 16, this time as the ShoBox headliner against veteran Ramon Ayala in Indio, Calif. In his first turn as a national TV headliner Omar didn’t disappoint, overwhelming Ayala and forcing the ref to wave it off in the second round. It was his third straight knockout, and like the others it featured non-stop action from the opening bell.[[MORE]]

A series of heavy lefts to the midsection hurt Ayala early and often, forcing him to hold constantly to try and stay upright. Twice Omar shoved him brusquely to the mat, earning a warning from the ref the first time, but a knockdown on the second. Ayala sprang up, but was unable to walk toward the ref. Dr. Lou ended the fight without much protest from Ayala’s corner. Ramon clearly had no desire to endure more of those vicious hooks to the body.

Omar’s fan-friendly style and baby face recall Mexican super welterweight sensation Saul Alvarez; introducing him to Canelo’s legions of fans would seem like a natural next step in his development. With power in both hands and the willingness to exchange, Omar has all the signs of a must-see fighter. His poor defense will get him in trouble against foes that can punch, but he’s shown a strong beard for such a young buck. Here’s hoping they can squeeze him into the May 5 PPV show headlined by Mayweather-Cotto and Canelo-Mosely, a card desperately in need of some youth and excitement.