Figueroa-Castro, Martin-Nunez added to Magsayo-Vargas Showtime card
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WBC featherweight titlist Mark Magsayo’s first defense against mandatory challenger and former junior featherweight titlist Rey Vargas, previously announced for July 9 (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, will be supported by two additional fights that the network and Premier Boxing Champions made official on Tuesday.
In the co-feature, former junior featherweight titlist Brandon Figueroa will move up to featherweight and face Carlos Castro, who is also moving up, in a WBC title eliminator.
Figueroa (22-1-1, 17 KOs), 25, of Weslaco, Texas, will be fighting for the first time since a hard-fought majority decision loss to Stephen Fulton Jr. in a November junior featherweight title unification fight.
“I’ve been waiting to get back in the ring to do what I love,” Figueroa said. “Carlos Castro is a great fighter and we both have to prove why we belong at the top of the 126-pound division.”
Castro (27-1, 12 KOs), 28, of Phoenix, is coming off a split decision loss to Luis Nery, who dropped him in the first round on Feb. 5.
“I have some real business to handle against Figueroa,” Castro said. “There’s no better fight for me to show that I’m back. I’m ready to show that I’m capable of being in the mix at the top of the division and to earn a shot at the title.”
In the opener, top lightweight prospect Frank Martin (15-0, 11 KOs), 27, of Indianapolis, will face former world title challenger Ricardo Nunez (23-3, 21 KOs), 28, of Panama, in a 10-rounder. That fight was originally slated for this past Saturday on the undercard of Jermall Charlo’s middleweight title defense against Maciej Sulecki, but Charlo’s recent back injury forced the card to be postponed.
“I’ve been training hard in Dallas and I’m just excited and ready to go,” said Martin, who works with trainer Derrick James in the Errol Spence Jr. camp. “Nunez is a boxer-puncher, so I expect him to mix it up with some fast combinations and to try and throw my movement off, but I’ll be ready for all of that. Fight fans are going to enjoy an action fight with this one. We’ve got the speed, power and athleticism to put on an exciting show on July 9.”
Nunez has won two fights in a row by knockout since Gervonta Davis knocked him out in the second round of a junior lightweight world title fight in July 2019.
“You’re going to see a whole new fighter against Martin,” Nunez said. “I’m coming to fight and impose my style on my opponent. Martin is a good boxer who’s made it to a high level, but he still has to show what he’s made of. I’m going to give one hundred percent to stop his rise and be the first person to beat him.”
Magsayo (24-0, 16 KOs), 27, of the Philippines, won the 126-pound title by upset decision over Gary Russell Jr. on Jan. 22 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, also on Showtime.
“I’m excited to be fighting in the same venue where my idol Manny Pacquiao fought Marco Antonio Barrera,” Magsayo said of Pacquiao-Barrera I in 2003. “That was the first fight I ever saw and the reason I started boxing. We are preparing for a strong Mexican fighter in Rey Vargas. Everyone knows what the Philippines versus Mexico boxing rivalry brings to the ring and I’m excited to display my talents for the boxing fans in Texas and watching around the world.”
Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs), 31, of Mexico, returned from a nearly 2½-year layoff due to injury to cruise to a near-shutout of Leonardo Baez in his featherweight debut on the Canelo Alvarez-Caleb Plant undercard in November.
“This fight will be a great battle against the Filipino warrior Mark Magsayo,” said Vargas, who is trained by the legendary Hall of Famer Nacho Beristain. “This is going to be exciting combat from start to finish. We know that he has great power, but we’ll be ready to counter that, and anything else he brings to the ring. This is going to be a magnificent fight and I can’t wait to step in there and compete.”
Showtime will offer two additional 10-round undercard bouts on the Showtime Sports YouTube channel beginning at 7 p.m. ET:
Lynn, Massachusetts, welterweight Rashidi Ellis (23-0, 14 KOs), 29, in his first PBC fight since leaving Golden Boy, will fight for the first time since October 2020 when he meets southpaw Alberto Palmetta (17-1, 12 KOs), 32, a 2016 Olympian from Argentina, who has won 11 fights in a row.
San Antonio bantamweight Ramon Cardenas (20-1, 10 KOs),26, will face Michell Banquez (20-1, 14 KOs), 31, of Venezuela.
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