Brandon Figueroa Looking For Unification Bout

LIVERPOOL, England — Brandon Figueroa wasted no time talking unification after delivering a dramatic, final-round knockout of Nick Ball to capture the WBA featherweight title Saturday night.

Figueroa (27-3-1, 20 KOs) produced the defining moment of his career at M&S Bank Arena, flooring Ball (23-1-1, 13 KOs) with a crushing left hook late in Round 12 before a ferocious follow-up sent the hometown favorite through the ropes. The stoppage rendered the scorecards moot, but it capped a performance in which Figueroa had already banked extended stretches of control with his relentless, high-volume style.

The victory marked Figueroa’s first professional bout outside the United States and he looked anything but out of place. Ranked No. 7 by The Ring at featherweight entering the fight, the 29-year-old Texan quickly solved Ball’s pressure and met aggression with aggression over a grueling contest.

Unbeknownst to Figueroa at the time, two of the three judges had him up by three points heading into the final round. The emphatic finish ensured there would be no debate.

“I feel like it’s amazing,” Figueroa told The Ring afterward. “We came all the way here to Liverpool, we crossed the seas. They were not going to give us nothing. We were fighting in his backyard, all odds against us but we finished strong and I feel like we dominated. “Anyone that says otherwise, I don’t know. I showcased my love and my talent for the sport, and we left as a champion.”