| Omar Figueroa Jr. | |
| Nickname: | Panterita |
| Weight: | |
| Height: | 5 ft 7+1/2 in[1] |
| Reach: | 73 in |
| Nationality: | American |
| Birth Date: | 13 December 1989 |
| Birth Place: | Weslaco, Texas, U.S. |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 32 |
| Wins: | 28 |
| Ko: | 19 |
| Losses: | 3 |
| Draws: | 1 |
Omar Figueroa Jr. (born December 13, 1989) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2008 to 2022. who held the WBC lightweight title in 2014.[2]
Figueroa had approximately 40 amateur bouts, mostly fought in Texas and Mexico, but quickly turned professional, admitting he "did not care for" the amateur ranks.[3]
On January 6, 2012, Figueroa won an upset TKO over undefeated Puerto Rican-American prospect Michael Pérez in a bout televised on Showtime.[4] Figueroa would go on to win a total of six bouts in 2012, including his debut for Golden Boy Promotions, a second round knockout of Mexico's Ramon Ayala. Building on this success in 2013, Figueroa won a unanimous decision over Japan's Nihito Arakawa for the vacant WBC interim lightweight title, in a fight declared by the Showtime commentator Mauro Ranallo to be a candidate for 2013 Fight of the Year. Writer Scott Christ of the boxing blog Bad Left Hook later said of Figueroa and Arakawa's encounter:
"This fight was unreal and has to be seen to be believed. The brutality was simply off the charts. They might not agree with it today, but I heard more than one person last night say that this was the best fight they've ever seen, or the best fight of the 2000s.[5]
In 2015, Figueroa defeated former world titlist Ricky Burns via unanimous decision at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas[6]
On 16 February, 2019, Figueroa Jr faced John Molina Jr. In a tough contest, Figueroa Jr managed to continuously beat Molina Jr to the punch and outbox Molina Jr, to win the fight via unanimous decision, 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93.[7]
In his next bout, Figueroa Jr fought Yordenis Ugas, ranked #5 by the WBC at welterweight. Ugas won the fight convincingly, winning 119-107 across all three scorecards.[8]
In his next bout, Figueroa Jr fought Abel Ramos, ranked #8 by the WBA at welterweight.[9] After six rounds Figueroa Jr had taken a lot of punishment from Ramos, which prompted Figueroa Jr's trainer Joel Diaz to stop the fight after the end of the sixth round.[10]
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32 | Loss | 28–3–1 | Sergey Lipinets | RTD | 8 (12), | Aug 20, 2022 | |||
| 31 | Loss | 28–2–1 | Abel Ramos | RTD | 6 (12), | May 1, 2021 | |||
| 30 | Loss | 28–1–1 | Yordenis Ugás | UD | 12 | Jul 20, 2019 | |||
| 29 | Win | 28–0–1 | John Molina Jr. | UD | 10 | Feb 16, 2019 | |||
| 28 | Win | 27–0–1 | Robert Guerrero | TKO | 3 (10), | Jul 15, 2017 | |||
| 27 | Win | 26–0–1 | Antonio DeMarco | UD | 12 | Dec 12, 2015 | |||
| 26 | Win | 25–0–1 | Ricky Burns | UD | 12 | May 9, 2015 | |||
| 25 | Win | 24–0–1 | Daniel Estrada | KO | 9 (12), | Aug 16, 2014 | |||
| 24 | Win | 23–0–1 | Jerry Belmontes | 12 | Apr 26, 2014 | ||||
| 23 | Win | 22–0–1 | Nihito Arakawa | UD | 12 | Jul 27, 2013 | |||
| 22 | Win | 21–0–1 | Abner Cotto | KO | 1 (10), | Apr 20, 2013 | |||
| 21 | Win | 20–0–1 | Henry Aurad | KO | 1 (8), | Mar 2, 2013 | |||
| 20 | Win | 19–0–1 | Dominic Salcido | UD | 10 | Jul 12, 2012 | |||
| 19 | Win | 18–0–1 | Alain Hernandez | TKO | 1 (8), | Jun 23, 2012 | |||
| 18 | Win | 17–0–1 | Tyler Ziolkowski | KO | 1 (6), | Jun 2, 2012 | |||
| 17 | Win | 16–0–1 | Robbie Cannon | TKO | 2 (8), | May 5, 2012 | |||
| 16 | Win | 15–0–1 | Ramon Ayala | KO | 2 (10), | Mar 16, 2012 | |||
| 15 | Win | 14–0–1 | Michael Pérez | 6 (10), | Jan 6, 2012 | ||||
| 14 | Win | 13–0–1 | Marcos Herrera | KO | 2 (8), | Aug 28, 2011 | |||
| 13 | Win | 12–0–1 | Eric Cruz | UD | 8 | Jun 17, 2011 | |||
| 12 | Win | 11–0–1 | John Figueroa | KO | 2 (8), | Apr 23, 2011 | |||
| 11 | Draw | 10–0–1 | Arturo Quintero | 8 | Nov 12, 2010 | ||||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Julian Rodriguez | 2 (6), | Jun 18, 2010 | ||||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Edgar Portillo | 6 | Mar 27, 2010 | ||||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Anthony Woods | TKO | 2 (4), | Dec 12, 2009 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Jeremy Marts | TKO | 1 (4), | Aug 22, 2009 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Jorge de Leon | TKO | 3 (6), | Jun 4, 2009 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Ramiro Torres | TKO | 1 (4), | May 15, 2009 | |||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Daniel Garcia | TKO | 3 (8), | Feb 27, 2009 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Arturo Herrera | TKO | 2 (4), | Nov 21, 2008 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Joe Reyes | 1 (4), | Oct 18, 2008 | ||||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Edwin Espinoza | 1 (4), | Jun 21, 2008 |
Omar who is of Mexican descent, is the older brother of former boxing champion Brandon Figueroa. Omar Figueroa brought light to mental health in his showtime special where he went on to discuss his childhood upbringing resulting in his struggles with PTSD, ADHD, and bi-polar disorder.He continues to be an advocate for not just athletes but to everyone who struggles with mental health.[11]
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