Omar Figueroa Jr.

Omar Figueroa Jr.
Statistics
Nickname(s) Panterita
Rated at
Height 5 ft 7 12 in (171 cm)
Reach 73 in (185 cm)
Nationality American
Born (1989-12-13) December 13, 1989
Weslaco, Texas, U.S.
Stance Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights 27
Wins 26
Wins by KO 18
Losses 0
Draws 1

Omar Figueroa Jr. (born December 13, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He held the WBC lightweight title in 2014, making two defenses before vacating and moving up to light welterweight.[1]

Amateur career

Figueroa had approximately 40 amateur bouts, mostly fought in Texas and Mexico, but quickly turned professional, admitting he "did not care for" the amateur ranks.[2]

Professional career

On January 6, 2012, Figueroa won an upset T.K.O. victory over undefeated Puerto Rican-American prospect Michael Pérez in a bout televised on Showtime.[3] Figueroa would go on to win a total of six bouts in 2012, including his debut for Golden Boy Promotions, a second round knockout of Mexico's Ramon Ayala. Building on this success in 2013, Figueroa won a unanimous decision over Japan's Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC interim lightweight title, in a fight declared by the Showtime commentator Mauro Ranallo to be a candidate for 2013 Fight of the Year. Writer Scott Christ of the boxing blog Bad Left Hook later said of Figueroa and Arakawa's encounter:

"This fight was unreal and has to be seen to be believed. The brutality was simply off the charts. They might not agree with it today, but I saw more than one person last night saying that this was the best fight they've ever seen, or the best fight of the 2000s. That might be too far, but when those thoughts cross your mind during a fight, you're unquestionably seeing something special." [4]

In 2015, Figueroa defeated former world titlist Ricky Burns via unanimous decision at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas[5]

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
27 fights 26 wins 0 losses
By knockout 18 0
By decision 7 0
By disqualification 1 0
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
27 Win 26–0–1 Mexico Antonio DeMarco UD 12 Dec 12, 2015 United States AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
26 Win 25–0–1 United Kingdom Ricky Burns UD 12 May 9, 2015 United States State Farm Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S.
25 Win 24–0–1 Mexico Daniel Estrada KO 9 (12), 1:00 Aug 16, 2014 United States StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S. Retained WBC lightweight title
24 Win 23–0–1 United States Jerry Belmontes SD 12 Apr 26, 2014 United States StubHub Center, Carson, California, U.S. Retained WBC lightweight title
23 Win 22–0–1 Japan Nihito Arakawa UD 12 Jul 27, 2013 United States AT&T Center, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Won WBC interim lightweight title
22 Win 21–0–1 Puerto Rico Abner Cotto KO 1 (10), 2:57 Apr 20, 2013 United States Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, U.S. Won WBC FECARBOX, vacant WBANABA and WBC Silver interim lightweight titles
21 Win 20–0–1 Colombia Henry Aurad KO 1 (8), 0:47 Mar 2, 2013 United States Our Lady of the Lake University Gym, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.
20 Win 19–0–1 United States Dominic Salcido UD 10 Jul 12, 2012 United States U.S. Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
19 Win 18–0–1 Mexico Alain Hernandez TKO 1 (8), 1:34 Jun 23, 2012 United States Staples Center, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
18 Win 17–0–1 United States Tyler Ziolkowski KO 1 (6), 2:00 Jun 2, 2012 United States Home Depot Center, Carson, California, U.S.
17 Win 16–0–1 United States Robbie Cannon TKO 2 (8), 2:08 May 5, 2012 United States MGM Grand Garden Arena, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
16 Win 15–0–1 Mexico Ramon Ayala KO 2 (10), 2:53 Mar 16, 2012 United States Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S.
15 Win 14–0–1 United States Michael Pérez RTD 6 (10), 3:00 Jan 6, 2012 United States Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, Indio, California, U.S. Won vacant WBO Youth Intercontinental lightweight title
14 Win 13–0–1 United States Marcos Herrera KO 2 (8), 1:19 Aug 28, 2011 United States UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
13 Win 12–0–1 Puerto Rico Eric Cruz UD 8 (8), 3:00 Jun 17, 2011 United States State Farm Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S.
12 Win 11–0–1 Puerto Rico John Figueroa KO 2 (8), 2:05 Apr 23, 2011 United States Nokia Theatre L.A. Live, Los Angeles, California, U.S.
11 Draw 10–0–1 United States Arturo Quintero SD 8 Nov 12, 2010 United States State Farm Arena, Hidalgo, Texas, U.S.
10 Win 10–0 Mexico Julian Rodriguez DQ 2 (6), 1:15 Jun 18, 2010 United States Events Center, McAllen, Texas, U.S. Rodriguez disqualified for repeated low blows
9 Win 9–0 United States Edgar Portillo UD 6 Mar 27, 2010 United States Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Paradise, Nevada, U.S.
8 Win 8–0 The Bahamas Anthony Woods TKO 2 (4), 1:46 Dec 12, 2009 United States UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
7 Win 7–0 United States Jeremy Marts TKO 1 (4), 1:54 Aug 22, 2009 United States Toyota Center, Houston, Texas, U.S.
6 Win 6–0 Mexico Jorge de Leon TKO 3 (6), 1:36 Jun 4, 2009 United States Events Center, Pharr, Texas, U.S.
5 Win 5–0 United States Ramiro Torres TKO 1 (4), 1:59 May 15, 2009 United States Casa de Amistad, Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
4 Win 4–0 United States Daniel Garcia TKO 3 (8), 1:10 Feb 27, 2009 United States Casa de Amistad, Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
3 Win 3–0 Mexico Arturo Herrera TKO 2 (4), 1:20 Nov 21, 2008 United States Casa de Amistad, Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
2 Win 2–0 United States Joe Reyes TKO 1 (4), 2:59 Oct 18, 2008 United States Casa de Amistad, Harlingen, Texas, U.S.
1 Win 1–0 United States Edwin Espinoza KO 1 (4), 0:25 Jun 21, 2008 United States Rio Grande Valley Harley Davidson, McAllen, Texas, U.S. Professional debut

Titles in boxing

Regional titles
New title WBO Youth Intercontinental lightweight champion
January 6, 2012 – April 2013
Vacated
Title discontinued
Vacant
Title last held by
Dorin Spivey
WBANABA lightweight champion
April 20, 2013 – July 2013
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Samuel Kotey Neequaye
New title WBC Silver lightweight champion
Interim title

April 20, 2013 – July 27, 2013
Won interim world title
Vacant
Preceded by
Abner Cotto
WBC FECARBOX lightweight champion
April 20, 2013 – May 2013
Vacated
Vacant
Title next held by
Anthony Lora
World titles
Vacant
Title last held by
Antonio DeMarco
WBC lightweight champion
Interim title

July 27, 2013 – January 27, 2014
Promoted
Vacant
Preceded by
Adrien Broner
stripped
WBC lightweight champion
January 27, 2014 – November 10, 2014
Status changed
Vacant
Title next held by
Jorge Linares
Honorary titles
New title WBC lightweight champion
In recess

November 10, 2014 – October 2015
Stripped
Vacant
Title next held by
Jorge Linares

References

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