Brandon Figueroa KO9 Jessie Magdaleno ... Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa ended 14-month layoff, retaining his interim WBC featherweight world title for the first time with a ninth-round knockout against Jessie Magdaleno on the Canelo-Munguia undercard in Las Vegas. Having last fought in April 2023, Magdaleno was also returning from an extended ring absence. He came in nearly three pounds above the weight limit at 128.6 pounds, and thus was ineligible to win the title with a victory.

 

Beginning the fight as a southpaw, Figueroa, 125.4 lbs., of Weslaco, TX, consistently switched stances throughout, as he often does. Immediately after landing a flush left hook in round two, Magdaleno, the former WBO super bantamweight champion, suffered a cut over his left eye due to a clash of heads. Figueroa was busier over the first half, but Magdaleno was the more accurate puncher. With Figueroa often backing him against the ropes, Magdaleno was able to smother, block or parry many of Figueroa’s punches to land his own countershots. In the later rounds, Figueroa’s combinations and pressure were wearing down Magdaleno. In round nine, Figueroa had Magdaleno pinned on the ropes and landed a devastating right hook downstairs to send him to the mat. Magdaleno writhed in pain on the canvas and could not beat the count. The knockout came at 2:59 of the frame. 

 

Figueroa, once the unified WBC/WBC super bantamweight world champion before moving up to featherweight, improved to 25-1-1 (19 KOs). Magdaleno, from Henderson, Nevada, returns home with a record of 29-3 with 18 KOs.