Source: Nery-Figueroa jr. featherweight title bout to headline May 15 card on Showtime
As Showtime nears an announcement of numerous fights on its upcoming schedule, one of those bouts will be a junior featherweight world title showdown that has been expected to take place since last fall.
Luis Nery will defend his WBC 122-pound title against Brandon Figueroa, whose secondary WBA title is also expected to be at stake, in the main event of Showtime’s card on May 15, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite on Monday.
The fight is ticketed for a venue in Southern California with a limited number of spectators permitted, the source said.
Nery and Figueroa, who both fight under the Premier Boxing Champions umbrella, have been on something of a collision course since last Sept. 26. That is when they both secured victories on same Showtime PPV card at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, where brothers Jermell and Jermall Charlo were featured in separate world title fights.
Nery (31-0, 24 KOs), 26, a powerful southpaw from Mexico, won a unanimous decision – 118-110, 116-112 and 115-112 – over then-undefeated Aaron Alameda to win the vacant WBC title following a stint as the WBC bantamweight titleholder.
Nery was stripped of that title for failing to make weight for a title defense in a rematch against Shinsuke Yamanaka in Japan in March 2018, but he continued to fight at bantamweight before moving up to junior featherweight for the fight last September.
He will face a fellow brawler in Figueroa (21-0-1, 16 KOs), 24, of Weslaco, Texas. Figueroa, who is the younger brother of former lightweight world titlist Omar Figueroa Jr., claimed the WBA interim bantamweight title in April 2019 by eight-round knockout of Yonfrez Parejo.
Figueroa was later elevated to the secondary titleholder and made two successful defenses. He fought to an action-packed draw with former titlist Julio Ceja in November 2019 in a bout for which Ceja was more than four pounds overweight and ineligible to claim the belt.
Then Figueroa knocked out Damien Vazquez in the 10th round of a one-sided fight in September on the Charlo event.
Nery photo: Amanda Westcott/Showtime
Should be a good one. Lets just hope both men make weight when they get on the scales.
Nery made 122lbs last time out but he's no longer with Eddy Reynoso.
Whoever his new trainer is he'll have to ensure that Nery is disciplined and doesn't fail at 122lbs after all his problems at 118lbs.
That said, this is an intriguing match-up as both fighters appear capable of winning.