Omar Figueroa picks up a controversial unanimous decision
In an excellent matchup of styles, we had John Molina (30-7,24KO) vs Omar Figueroa (27-0-1,19KO). This fight is a can’t miss fight with both rarely taking a step backwards, the power of Molina, and the constant pressure of Figueroa. This fight was briefly in jeopardy due to a weight issue.
However, both camps agreed to raise the weight from 140lbs to 145lbs.
The fight opens up as expected with Molina trying to establish his jab and Figueroa applying pressure, looking to attack the body.
Figueroa is doing an excellent job moving his head and rolling Molina’s jab. One good early sign for Molina is he’s avoiding the ropes and finding a home for his right-hand even when he misses his jab.
Going into the fourth round, Molina makes an adjustment on his jab by throwing it towards Figueroa’s center mass instead of his head. This makes a world of difference as it’s blunting the pressure of of the brawler and giving him room to throw his vaunted right-hand.
With Figueroa off balance, Molina also continues to use his right uppercut to the body to slow the pace.
Figueroa, who’s known to switch stances constantly, starts to have some success rolling the right-hand and landing his left-hooks. The brawler also bit down and committed to pressing the fight. As we go down the stretch, Molina looks stronger than expected and is throwing sharp counters to both the head and body.
Figueroa showed resolve on his part, throwing back. As the final bell rang, Figueroa seemingly threw his hands down in disgust with his performance.
The Final Decision
Figueroa wins a unanimous decision by an inexplicably wide margin. The final scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 99-91, all for Figueroa. Ringside judge Larry Hazard scored the bout 94-96 in favor of Molina.
As for what’s next, it’s really unclear for the losing fighter. He’ll continue to get the call for decent names, but he’s in a gatekeeper situation.
As for Figueroa, he should stay at welterweight and if Keith Thurman can’t get one of the bigger fights he wants, the Mexican brawler should pull out all stops to get this fight. Figueroa would be a live dog and he has enough name recognition to generate interest.
By: Corey Cunningham
