Figueroa tops Magsayo in action battle to claim WBC interim featherweight title
Resendiz upsets Hurd by 10th-round TKO in slugfest; 19-year-old middleweight Elijah Garcia KOs Vidal in breakout win
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The pre-fight predictions from Brandon Figueroa and Mark Magsayo that they would wage the fight of the year did not come true but they did turn in a highly entertaining battle that most expected, with Figueroa winning a unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBC interim featherweight title on Saturday night at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.
In the main event of a Premier Boxing Champions tripleheader on Showtime, Figueroa won by surprisingly wide scores of 118-108, 117-109 and 117-109, though there was little doubt when it was over who the rightful winner was, especially after Magsayo had been docked two points for holding by referee Thomas Taylor.
More than the interim 126-pound belt, the win earned former junior featherweight titleholder Figueroa a mandatory shot at Mexico’s Rey Vargas (36-1, 22 KOs), the full titlist, who was ringside. He plans to return to the division to defend his belt after stepping up to junior lightweight and losing a unanimous decision to O’Shaquie Foster for the vacant WBC 130-pound belt on Feb. 11.
Magsayo won two of the first three rounds on all three scorecards, but from there Figueroa took over in the eyes of the judges, though the bout seemed very competitive throughout.
