Brandon Figueroa turned a forgettable fight into a highlight-reel moment in an instant.

A wicked left to the body forced Jessie Magdaleno to the canvas late in round nine. Referee Allen Huggins reached the count of ten to end the fight at 2:59 of the ninth round Saturday evening at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Figueroa played with house money, as his interim WBC featherweight title was not at stake. Magdaleno missed weight by 2.6 pounds at Friday’s official weigh-in and was not eligible to win the secondary belt.

It didn’t prevent the former WBO 122-pound titleholder from slowing down Figueroa’s normally high-octane attack. The Las Vegas native used constant movement to discourage his heavily favored foe and slow down the pace to a crawl. Figueroa looked sluggish in his first fight since a win over Mark Magsayo last March.

Magdaleno was only slightly more active. He hadn’t fought since a shutout loss to Ray Ford last April 8 in San Antonio. The 13-month inactive stretch was inconsequential, though he was dealt a brief scare early. A clash of heads left Magdaleno with a cut over his left eye late in the round.

Javier Capetillo Jr. validated his reputation as a top cutman, as the wound was never a factor for the balance of the fight. Magdaleno continued on with his intended game plan, while Figueroa did his best to force an inside fight.

Figueroa was issued a hard warning late in round four when a right uppercut landed well below the beltline. Magdaleno dropped to his knees in pain and sought time to recover from the foul.

Another warning was issued to Figueroa in round five for leading with his head. The Texan southpaw questioned the call by the referee but did his best to not let it affect his performance.

Combos on combos and STILL no knockdown

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Figueroa drove Magdaleno to the ropes and let his hands go late in round six. The crowd on hand was given reason to cheer for the first time in the fight. The momentum shift was brief, however, as action once again slowed in the middle rounds.

Another sequence along the ropes saw Figueroa dig to the body late in round nine. Magdaleno threatened to make it out of the round. However, he left his right side exposed just enough for Figueroa to slam home a left just below his elbow. Magdaleno immediately hit the deck and winced in pain as he was issued the full ten count.

“Just. Like. THAT!” @brandonleefig beats the bell in RD9 with a 💣 to the liver of Magdaleno, ending the fight by KO. #FigueroaMagdaleno

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The one-punch knockout erased Figueroa’s largely ineffective offense on the night. He landed 129 of 470 total punches, which outpaced Magdaleno (115-of-317) in both categories. However, Magdaleno connected at a higher percentage, 36.3% compared to 27.5% for Figueroa.

Magdaleno also landed 92-of-252 power shots (36.5%), again more accurate than Figueroa (118-of-370, 31.2%). He also connected on more body shots (27 to 25).

Only one mattered in the end, and it resulted in the second straight defeat for Magdaleno (29-3, 18 knockouts). His last victory came in May 2022, the tail end of a four-fight win streak. Magdaleno previously held the WBO 122-pound title, when he dethroned future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire in November 2016. His reign ended in an April 2018 knockout defeat to then-unbeaten Isaac Dogboe.

Figueroa, The Ring’s No. 5-rated featherweight, improved to 25-1-1 (19 knockouts). He previously held a secondary WBA 122-pound title and the full WBC belt at the weight. He lost the title to Stephen Fulton in their epic Nov. 2021 unification bout in Las Vegas. Just three fights have followed, though he remains the mandatory challenger to full WBC featherweight titlist Rey Vargas (36-1-1, 22 KOs).

Figueroa-Magdaleno was part of a four-fight PPV telecast, topped by the Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez-Jaime Munguia Ring/undisputed 168-pound championship.

Jake Donovan a senior writer for The Ring and vice president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.

Follow @JakeNDaBox

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