Brandon Figueroa vs Jessie Magdaleno Preview May 4th, 2024
Former WBA and WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Brandon Figueroa of Weslaco, Texas puts his Interim World WBC Featherweight Title on the line this Saturday, May 4th as he takes on former WBO Super Bantamweight Champion Jessie Magdaleno of Las Vegas, Nevada. The 12-rounder from Las Vegas, can be seen live on pay-per-view in most nations on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia battle. Figueroa last fought in March, 2023 when he beat Mark Magsayo via a wide unanimous decision to win the interim belt. Magdaleno last saw action in April of last year when he dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Raymond ford and was dropped in the fourth and 11th rounds.
Figueroa vs Magdaleno Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Jessie Magdaleno +700
- Brandon Figueroa -1250
My Pick
The 27-year-old Figueroa captured the vacant interim WBA Super Bantamweight Title when he stopped Yonfrez Parejo after eight rounds in April, 2019 before stopping Javier Chacon in four rounds in August and then drawing with an overweight Julio Ceja in a slugfest three months later. He was the o the WBA Champion when he stopped WBC beltholder Luis Nery in seven rounds in May, 2021 to win that title. However, the geniuses who run the WBA stripped him of their belt for agreeing to fight WBO boss Stephen Fulton in November, 2021 and he lost a controversial majority decision in that bout as well as his title.
Since losing to Fulton, he stopped Carlos Castro in the sixth round in 2022 and beat Magsayo a year later. Figueroa climbs through the ropes with a mark of 24-1-1 with 18 Ko’s and has boxed 153 rounds since turning pro in 2015. He stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 72.5-inch reach and possesses explosive fists as 75 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage, but has gone the distance in two of his last three fights and in three of his past six. He’s displayed a solid chin up to now and has needed it in wins over the likes of Fulton, Chacon, Parejo, Nery, Moises Flores, Oscar Escandon, Victor Proa and Fatiou Fassinou. As an amateur, Figueroa lost to Shakur Stevenson and beat Chris Colbert.
Brandon is the younger brother of former world champion Omar Figueroa and is an excellent all-action fighter. He stepped up in class for the first time against Oscar Escandon in 2018 and passed the test with flying colours when he stopped him in the 10th round and followed up by stopping Moises Flores in the third round. However, it could be argued that he didn’t take a step forward after that with bouts against the limited Chacon and Ceja but he stepped things up again by meeting Nery, Fulton and Castro and is facing a former world champion this weekend in Magdaleno.
The 32-year-old Magdaleno is a southpaw who won the WBO Super Bantamweight title in November, 2016 when he beat Nonito Donaire by an impressive unanimous decision. He defended the crown against Adeilson Dos Santos by second round knockout five months later and then lost the title to Isaac Dogboe in an exciting contest in which he was stopped in the 11th round. Magdaleno won four fights in a row after that until losing to Raymond Ford in his last outing.
This means Magdaleno will make the ring walk with a current record of 29-2 with 18 Ko’s and has 161 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2010. Magdaleno has also beaten the likes of Rafael Rivera, Rico Ramos, Adeilson Dos Santos, Erik Ruiz, Roberto Castaneda, Luis Maldonado and Raul Hidalgo with Donaire definitely being the best of the bunch. Magdaleno stands 5-feet-4-inches tall with a 66-inch reach which sees him give up five inches in height and 6.5-inches in reach to Figueroa. He also has good power in his fists as 62.1 per cent of his wins have been by stoppage.
However, he hasn’t stopped an opponent since 2017 when he halted Adeilson Dos Santos in the second round. Magdaleno possesses impressive boxing skills and enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported record of 120-16. He was a Golden Gloves and National Champion back in 2009 and learned lot in the amateur ranks. He has handled the pro game well up to now due to his power and overall ring generalship despite his defeats at the hands of Dogboe and Ford.
Prediction…
There are several excellent volume-punching boxers out there but Figueroa is arguably the best of the bunch when it comes to letting his hands go. It’s usually non-stop punching to the head and body with this guy and that’s why he’s lost just once and it was a highly-controversial decision to Stephen Fulton at that. In fact, every time Figueroa steps into the ring it has the potential to be a fight-of-the-year candidate as he simply lets his hands fly and just keeps throwing leather until eventually wearing his opponent down or stopping him. However, he also takes a lot of shots in return due to this style but so far he’s displayed a rock-solid chin. The smaller Magdaleno will need to match Figueroa’s output to beat him and he won’t have to worry about working his way inside as Figueroa’s size advantage is rarely put to use. This should be an exciting fight for as long as it lasts and as usual I’m going with Figueroa’s non-stop style, likely by stoppage in the second half.
Figueroa’s aggression, power, size and chin will be the difference.
Play: Figueroa -1250 @ BetOnline.ag
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Brandon Figueroa betting • Jessie Magdaleno betting