Weslaco’s Brandon “The Heartbreaker” Figueroa retained his WBA Super Bantamweight (122 lbs) title defense fighting to a draw against a dangerous opponent in Mexico City’s Julio “Pollito” Ceja.
The scorecards read 115-113 to Figueroa, 116-112 to Cejas, and 114-114 as the 22 year-old scrapped through a tough, seasoned opponent in Ceja, often finding himself “in the phone booth,” trading hard body shots the entire fight. Over 2800 punches were thrown in the fight, making it the 2nd highest punch total for a Super Bantamweight title fight ever.
Ceja weighed in overweight at 126.5 lbs, nullifying his chance to earn Figueroa’s belt. Commentators concerned with his fitness, however this didn’t seem to be much of a factor as Ceja kept himself within striking distance of Figueroa in the later rounds.
The draw follows Figueroa’s fourth round knockout of Javier Chacon in Edinburg back in August.
Such as his older brother, Omar, the story of Brandon’s fights seem to continue to write out that his brawler style was enough to earn the, but concerns remain whether this style and his unconcerned defense will be sustainable for a lengthy, successful career.
With the draw, Figueroa moves to 20-0-1.
