By Allan Fox: Brandon Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) says the reason Mark Magsayo (24-2, 16 KOs) kept falling down in the championship rounds of their fight on Saturday night was that he “didn’t want to fight” and was gassed out and scared.
It looked to some like Magsayo was falling down repeatedly for two reasons.
A. It allowed him to temporarily avoid the punishing shots.
B. Magsayo could get a breather.
Figueroa won the fight by a 12 round unanimous decision to win the WBC interim featherweight title at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
It was surprising that Magsayo would fall down as much as he did, and it was also bizarre that the referee didn’t penalize him or take a point away by calling it a knockdown. Either way, Magsayo should have lost a point when he was getting worked over by Figueroa and fell down.
Before this fight, Magsayor may have never fought anyone that attacked him to the body the way that Figueroa did, and he couldn’t handle it.
“Right now, I’m down to fight anyone,” said Brandon Figueroa at the post-fight press conference after beating former WBC featherweight champion Mark Magsayo on Saturday night in Ontario, California.
“You can tell my a fighter’s demeanor when they’re exhausted. Right away, when you see them fall down that easily. That means that he’s showing signs that he doesn’t want to fight.
“Al Haymon knows, and my team knows that I never back down from any fighter or any fight. Anyone that wants to fight, I’m here. As you guys can see, I can fight no matter who is in my way.
“He was holding & leaning a lot,” said Figueroa about Magsayo’s tactics during the fight. “It was giving me a hard time to work the body and work on the inside.
“I managed to work in little glimpses, but yeah, he was holding most of the fight. I was just trying to get my hands free and work. Taking the fight to him is draining. My preparation outside of the ring.
“My legs were good, my conditioning was good, and my power was there; everything was there. I knew he was holding a lot. I wanted to fight. I wanted him to let go and fight me. I knew he did it in the last round.
“It’s amazing to be in those firefights and give the fans the atmosphere that they love,” said Figueroa.