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SportsTranscript
00:00Charge Allen Huggins now to give instructions, 12 rounds of boxing scheduled for this featherweight title eliminator.
00:07Okay gentlemen, you've both been giving the instructions, so be my command at all times, protect yourselves at all times.
00:12Anything from here on up is good, from here on up is good. Touch gloves, good luck to both of you.
00:18Different face in the corner of Brandon Figueroa, a new voice, Manny Robles.
00:24First time training Brandon who has trained for his first 28 fights by his father, Omar Figueroa.
00:32Abner, what's that like when you change not only the voice, but in this case, it's your dad's.
00:38You know what, it's hard. My dad started training me when I was an amateur.
00:41But my dad realized that it was time for me to move on, time for me to grow as a fighter and learn new things.
00:49And that's when I started doing the switch.
00:51Figueroa lasted pretty much his whole career with his dad.
00:54And now he's making the switch with Manuel Robles, who is one of the best coaches out there right now.
01:00And Figueroa told us he expects to be not just reborn under Robles, but a return to the Figueroa that we all know.
01:06In fact, he told us, I want to give you guys the version of Brandon that you all wanted.
01:10That means more aggressiveness, that means more combinations, that means constant pressure,
01:14unlike the somewhat limited version we saw last time out in his rematch with Steven Fulton Jr.
01:19And he was clear to say, no excuses, but I was sick in the camp and the buildup.
01:23That didn't allow me to make weight the proper way.
01:26He says, it is what it is. Let's move forward and bring back the old branded Figueroa.
01:31But in tonight against Joette Gonzalez, who does continue to have his father, Don Chuy Jose Gonzalez, in his corner.
01:38And that's a dynamic that hasn't borne fruits when it's been three world title opportunities.
01:44Yeah, he's had those three opportunities against three big names, but he's learned so much from him, Bernardo.
01:50Yes.
01:51Gonzalez is a fighter that has been growing fight after fight, and I like the progress.
01:55He fights something similar to Figueroa.
01:58He's a forward pressure fighter, high guard, tight guard. He throws a lot.
02:02So I'm expecting a really, really good fight.
02:05All four of Gonzalez's career defeats have come against current or former world champions,
02:10and sometimes that sets someone back.
02:12He's used those defeats instead as lessons.
02:14He's become more battle-tested, more experienced, and he's expected to be a very tough out in this matchup,
02:20which I don't think the referee's going to have to separate that much.
02:23I think we're going to see them both let those hands go.
02:25I hope so.
02:26You guys talk about a tough road to a belt.
02:28Shakur Stevenson, one of the most untouchable fighters in the world at the time,
02:32especially at featherweight in 2019.
02:35Then Emmanuel Navarrete, a buzz saw offensively.
02:38And then Isaac Dogbe in a very close split decision loss in a ten-round fight.
02:43And Luis Alberto Bernardo Lopez, a hard-hitting Mexican, awkward champion, his last loss.
02:48And now he comes off a win against Arnold Kagai, a rugged fighter who, you know,
02:54he was able to dominate.
02:55So Figueroa is an elite-level fighter.
02:59Gonzalez wants to prove he belongs at this level.
03:02I like how he's pressuring right now, Gonzalez at moments.
03:06But you know Figueroa, he comes forward.
03:08He lands those shots.
03:09He throws a lot of shots.
03:10But that was a beautiful hook right there from Gonzalez landing.
03:15This is the Figueroa.
03:16That's a great left hook and right uppercut from Gonzalez.
03:19Spinning Figueroa to the ropes there.
03:22But this is the Figueroa of old, squaring off, switching stances on the fly
03:26and letting those hands go.
03:28Only he's got a tough opposition in front of him.
03:35They throw about 57 punches.
03:37Gonzalez through 56.
03:38Let's listen in to Manny Robles.
03:41Well done, son.
03:43Stop.
03:44Stop.
03:45Okay.
03:46Get up.
03:47Cuerpo.
03:48Body.
03:49Cuerpo y oper.
03:50And uppercut.
03:51Body shot and uppercut.
03:52Cuerpo y me lo levantas.
03:53And I need you to pick him up with that uppercut.
03:56And then I need you to step to the side and turn him.
03:58Cuerpo y lo levantas.
04:00Paso y vuelta.
04:01Body shot, pick him up with the uppercut and then spin.
04:04Everything has to be behind the jab.
04:05the jab we start with the jab faint with the jab and then moving your waist because that's the only
04:10way you're going to get inside once you're inside you go to work and don't hold them lean on them
04:16but that way you don't take away his offense push him create that space and then go for it
04:22take your spin i don't want you to hold him i don't want him to be warning you for holding
04:28hey and look the reason that manny roble speaks with so much authority is early on
04:38in the amateurs he trained joe gonzalez the world series of boxing team he was a part of manny
04:44roble's squad so he knows him extremely well yeah manny has been around for many years especially
04:50the amateur area and he knows most of these fighters and uh yeah obviously you know he's got the great
04:56game plan tonight against gonzalez but again again gonzalez who fights somewhat similar to figure
05:02off a lot of punches look at that a flurry of body shots i like how at the end of the last round he
05:08turned figure out to the ropes and you want to keep doing that if you're gonzalez and speaking of gonzalez
05:13and his amateur pedigree that has really given him that foundation to be competitive in these title
05:17fights he has two amateur wins over gervonta tank davis in three fights against him which certainly says
05:22something a lot yes wow the translation into the pro game we've just seen a lot of shoe shining even
05:30that body shot combination there wasn't a lot behind it uh abner and that's where uh gonzalez really needs
05:36to get better and sitting on his punches but i like it i like the work right now because remember any
05:41shot to the body even if it's with the minimum it still hurts and it still bothers so i like what he's
05:46doing right there uh what i don't like about figaro and it's something that has been going for many
05:51years is that he smothers his own office yes he gets in too close and his offense is not all that
05:57best he's got to take a little step back create that opening that gap and there it is right there
06:01and let those uppercuts go and by doing that he's also typically giving away that height advantage that
06:06he normally shares in the divisions he's competed yeah he's not a boxer he does not use that that reach
06:13advantage much but yes he needs to fight at a distance where his punches are going to land
06:19crispier and cleaner you want to make sure that your punches are effective and figueroa is sitting
06:26more on his punches and allowing gonzalez to do the work but there you see how gonzalez separates and
06:32lands a sharp right hook
06:34the upper cuts on the inside there from gonzalez he's matching the aggression and the output of
06:44figueroa i like that tight guard right now from gonzalez he's waiting as you see he's not throwing much
06:50punches but he's waiting for an opening now he did a while ago with that overhand right there it is again
06:56and he's protecting because he's leaning in he's not open for the uppercut that manny robles is
07:02demanding for figueroa and that's a nice uppercut from gonzalez good work from joet here in the second
07:10round great adjustments you know back to those losses on the title level for joet he told us a
07:16philosophical answer he said you got to take it on the chin and decide if you want this game or not
07:20he said for him i want this my ambition for the sport is still here after those defeats
07:27the fight against navarrete my best the best fight that i've watched because he gave it his
07:31all and he hurt navarrete a couple of times
07:38excellent second round for joet gonzalez it also helps that hey you're not just punching your opponent
07:45you're in charge of replays but i'm going to take this one if you don't mind because i saw it live and
07:49i said did brandon figueroa just punch himself yes he did shades of tyson fury in his early days
07:59oh wow and again you know that those are yeah this is the new guy bringing something new to the table
08:07i mean i like how he kind of slipped that punch but it was the uppercut it was too short it hit him
08:11right in the chip i'm sorry the forehead of joe gonzalez that hit himself in the head
08:18once i need more brandon figure i go to the body more okay
08:29that was a definition that i beat my own self
08:31well he did have a bloody nose did figueroa after that sequence against gonzalez the question is who
08:40inflicted the damage all right round three of a scheduled 12 round fight a world title eliminator
08:46at 126 pounds joey wants a fourth crack at a belt and brandon figuero wants another crack himself after
08:53losing the title against stephen fulton when he fought for the full belt mike joehead right now
09:00meeting the aggression of figueroa but figueroa's got to find that jab no jab behind that you know
09:06aggressive pressure there it is jab work your way inside the uppercut has always been money for him
09:13and you know what i'm seeing from joy i've got to call all those fights that we mentioned where he
09:18lost is there's a certain freedom to him he's not worried he's not thinking he's not listening to his
09:24dad yeah you don't even hear his father yelling right now that's a huge difference he made it simple
09:29in the fighter meetings when we talked to him he said this fight's about whoever wants it more and
09:33right now to be honest he's not working figueroa through two plus rounds so that's what it comes down
09:38to especially when you need a style similar to yours who wants it more who's going to give it more
09:47right against from gonzalez
09:52both guys comfortable in this phone booth fight that's the reality but it kind of feels like gonzalez
09:58is a little bit more comfortable and we talked about this is a return to the old figueroa only
10:04he's smothering his punches like you said abner and it doesn't seem to be like he's getting the
10:08better of the connections on the inside from joy there's nothing behind those punches we talked
10:13about in the last fight as well brian that he threw a lot but there's nothing behind the punches from
10:18figueroa when he gives himself the space to separate and lean into those shots like
10:24his knockout of castro and his featherweight debut he's a different fighter they're all arm
10:29punches look at that there's no torque there's no turning the punch all arm punches from figueroa
10:36and joey says i'm going to turn this left hook over perfectly and land it right on your chin
10:41because guess what i know where you are just like that i know where your head is
10:45you do have to wonder how long it does take a fighter to get comfortable with the new trainer
11:00figueroa talked a lot of game leading up to this fight about how comfortable they were but we'll see
11:05that as the adjustments continue to get made but so far no adjustments morning i don't see anything
11:10different from figueroa so even if you're not getting used to the style or whatever you learn
11:16that you know during the training camp you go back to your old self and figure out what's dangerous
11:21you know fighting his own self like his own self but right now i'm not seeing anything like that
11:27it's a goodbye shot though
11:30so what does joey say you want one i'll give you five
11:34action-packed three rounds here over 430 punches thrown between these two let's listen in
11:48there's a cut on joey gonzalez is right
11:51that was another good round for joey gonzalez we're gonna see the uppercut that was landing
12:15really nice short and then whoa he faked that uppercut and he came back around with the hook
12:23right hook he leaned down like he was gonna throw that uppercut he changed it mid-air i like that from
12:28joyette experience with cuts we're talking about the navarrete fight the mariaga fight the pirano fight
12:37the clark fights the took by him fight so
12:40gonzalez is no stranger to bleeding yeah he's not gonna panic not at all changes his output or his
12:47intentions four rounds low 47 total punches landed for figueroa almost double that for gonzalez
12:56pretty similar number of punches thrown if anything it's gonna encourage
13:01joey gonzalez to throw more right because of the blood there's but there's spiders that need
13:05that remember tito treated that he needed to get knocked down for him to start a fight
13:09how many of his early fights at those early flash knockdowns
13:12yeah and it brings me to tonight's fight tim zoo said in the weigh-in told jim
13:21gray when he was doing the interview he said he should have killed me when he had a chance
13:26and that was a tito trinidad you know yori boy campas dropped him early almost got decapitated
13:32fernando vargas same thing we saw what happened there i mean it was just one of those things barrera another
13:37fighter who never got going until he got clocked the kennedy mckinney fight so many the borrero morales
13:43trilogy memorable fights i love that not to mention too with manny pecky oh yeah what about that huh
13:49no there he never got going he got blasted out in alamadou in 2003 that brought breakthrough
13:55performance from early manny correct me if i'm wrong here abner figueroa switches stances a lot and he's
14:00dynamic in doing that but there's a difference between switching stances to keep your opponent guessing and
14:06squaring up and being there to be hit in front of him and i feel like we're seeing more of that
14:10from figueroa in this fight yeah we are i mean he's known for for being a switch hitter he switches
14:15softball right-handed but he normally does that when he feels that he's got something going but right
14:20now he's trying to find something he's trying to make something out of those stances right now the
14:25aggression is being really effective nice body work there from figueroa digging into the body of
14:36gonzalez figueroa has a track record of being a phenomenal body puncher remember that one punch
14:42stoppage of luis neri downstairs but he does a better job when he can take that step back and create more
14:48leverage to leverage to land those shots
14:52two three jabs in the face that just snapped the head of figueroa back
14:58let him go use the jab and you would think right that after so many years you would learn this
15:05yeah for figueroa seriously that that has been his his uh downfall really to be more effective the fact
15:12that he smothers his own his own offense does not create those angles does not create the gap
15:19the distance you plant those beautiful shots there's a beautiful uppercut i'm just wondering
15:25for figueroa and his new trainer manny robles at what point do you switch gears you're down three
15:29to nothing on my scorecard here as the round four comes to a close when do you make that adjustment
15:33we're in las vegas and everybody's talking about manny pacquiao and his chance to make history but
15:47what about this man he is the title holder at 30 years of age mario barrios is in the prime of his
15:53career winning the belt was a culmination of a lifelong dream but the chance to fight a legend
15:59is life-changing i spoke with him at the way in and he said look this is a whole different level
16:05what's it like when you step to this level and you have to make that ring walk to fight
16:11one of the best ever that's the whole thing when you're fighting the legend like manny pacquiao
16:16it could either you could get excited or it could break you and it says that you become a fan and you
16:22don't know what to do with that but what i'm seeing for varios is that he's showing no respect i like
16:27the fact that he's coming with the meaner of winning of of beating the legend at manny pacquiao
16:33at the press conference when he said hey the the fight that i remember that i liked the most from
16:37manny pacquiao is when he got knocked out against marquez those are fighting boards that's cold
16:45the disrespect but here we have respect in the ring for brandon figueroa and joet gonzalez
16:52they have combined for almost 600 punches thrown through the first four rounds and the action
16:59just keeps getting heated because neither one's able to create the right range joet's getting closer
17:05to finding the right range there is a bigger role is one thing to notice excuse me apner is their head
17:11clashing is only continuing here in the in the trenches here in the clinch and i've even seen some
17:16shoulders from figueroa catching the face of gonzalez yeah both fighters got to be careful yeah joe had
17:22already cut figure out might get cut you know sooner or later they just got to be careful with that
17:27there it is the one two from a distance from gonzalez keeping the reach right there the stick from
17:32gonzalez again he's the one that's making the adjustments adjustments in this round and you know
17:37the thing about is is calling so many of joe's fights is why does he like to be here when he could be
17:42on the outside and use that uh advantage although tonight against figuero he's got a two and a half
17:47inch reach disadvantage which is different for him but yet he's when he jabs he out jabs him he out
17:53jabs him because there's no jab given from figuero he's not jabbing with you so it's your distance
17:59against his because he's not giving you the jab to create his distance speaking of figuero
18:03nice body work our unofficial scorer larry hazard has this fight four nil in favor of gonzalez but here
18:13we see brandon figuero trying to mount a comeback in the fifth round also great body shots from figuero
18:24nice body shot with a right hood from joe gonzalez
18:27good right hand shovel uppercut from gonzalez on the inside he looks very comfortable at this pace
18:35at this style of fight even with that cut above his right eye i told you the blood is it's not even a
18:42factor with it it comes with the bell ring it's like daniel saragossa like he would get cut walking
18:49into the ring but even how to handle that the blood is flowing on the outside of the eye and that's
18:58helpful but you don't see figuero taking advantage by trying to throw that left
19:06nice body work again from joey on the inside
19:10really even around this one i like the body shots that figuero landed has been landing but the headshots
19:17the more eye-catching shots so far have been from gonzalez there's a good body shot again from figueroa
19:26but look at that flurry you can't let somebody shoe shine you in the center of the ring
19:31when it's a close round oh he just stole that round with that yes
19:34this guy is looking to steal the rounds in the last 10 seconds don't let him steal the rounds
19:50for you from you because he hears that 10 second down and he gives you a little flurry right you gotta
19:55you gotta fight fire with fire right you got that fight fire with fire baba
20:01right so stay locked in stay like you're doing good keep pushing them back look to step and turn
20:07right and go hard to the body yeah finish up top right go harder the body and finish to the head
20:13keep digging to the body but and to the head that is something that he's not doing he's doing the
20:37body work but he's not ending the shots in the head there it is he started right away with the body
20:41shots the body working from figuero
20:45back to the back
20:55bernardo osuna alongside the three division world champion after amarez
21:01got brian campbell and the hall of fame room jim gray ringside and things are starting to heat up in
21:07this phone booth oh yeah figuero getting off a little bit more and letting this punch is gone
21:14smothered most of them but these are the flurries right here from gonzalez tight guard
21:21something like better body language for figuero so far this round and that is something he talked
21:25about he said i have to go in there with the mentality that gonzalez does not belong in there with me
21:30but so far joe has proven that he does belong in there with him he just proved it again with that
21:35counter right hand on the inside but do you think that joe gonzalez is going to get intimidated by
21:39figure out when he faced navarrete when he faced jim chris stevenson come on that's what i say right
21:45like name another fighter who faced the slickest boxer and the you know punching machine
21:51an awkward fighter now yes like nothing conventional about either of those guys
21:59or dog bait or they all had their rubik's cube that you have to figure out in the ring
22:10use your shoulder you got to push with the shoulder create that gap there he kind of did it there
22:15gonzalez chavez was really good at that he'll get in the inside he'll push with the shoulder
22:20create that gap and land beautiful beautiful shots right there from gonzalez yeah i mean he's he's got
22:27brandon figueroa preoccupied about the head shots and then the body shots like those come in
22:32ripping and that's the beauty of what joe is able to do in this round is the punch variety he's also
22:38answering any type of success that figueroa is having outside of the norm usually with that counter
22:44right hand which has to jump out to the judges to show that he is in control in the center of this
22:48ring but here's a good point what do you guys think of this i don't remember the last time figueroa
22:55fought someone like gonzalez he used to fighting guys that are on the back foot he's got to chase
23:00him easy aggressive but he met someone that fights like him looking in the mirror right now literally as a
23:06southpaw and an orthodox fighter in front of him he's not used to somebody throwing three punches to his
23:13two or five to his four that's a credit to joe gonzalez so far in this fight it just seemed like the
23:21instructions from many robots between rounds was to just work harder and wear him down and get him
23:26out of there good luck with that that's my shot there from figueroa though now he's trying to steal this
23:34out from joe gonzalez
23:55you know who's working to the body and ending to the head
23:59not figueroa is joe gonzalez good body shot there shoe shine boom and then he ends it
24:06ends it with the overhand right that's been money maker for him this entire fight there it is the
24:10body work again wearing down figueroa and when you least it when he least expects the shot he's
24:17expecting a body shot and it comes comes up top on top of the head
24:21and starting to arrive here for tonight's main event featuring manny pacquiao joe goosin you've
24:33been watching from the perch up there what have you seen through the six rounds what adjustments does
24:39brandon figueroa need to make here well brandon figueroa is unlikely to make a lot of changes i mean
24:45right now he's just getting out hustled by a guy that kind of fights just like he does he's he's
24:50very busy he's on the inside except you know he's i think he's got his distance better than figueroa
24:58has his distance down uh gonzalez is like landing like those type of shots right there to the body
25:03and then up to the head he's really out punching brandon which is unusual most guys get out hustled by
25:09the figueroa brothers but uh you know at this point it's not much to do because gonzalez is is
25:16smothering him which is what what figueroa likes to do he's getting beat at his own game basically
25:22and what could he do he's got to be able to hurt gonzalez and out punch him which means he's got to
25:27pick up the volume right now uh and do something that hurts gonzalez but he's he's not capable of doing
25:33that at this point appreciate the legendary joe goosin chiming in here in the seventh round and
25:39yeah i mean the adjustments we all see what needs to be done but it's hard for either fighter especially
25:44figueroa to do it against such a consistently persistent fighter in joe gonzalez how about a jab
25:52from either fighter person we have not seen a single jab from them they're all been body shots uppercuts
26:01short punches in the inside but no no lead hand to that point total punches total jabs landed
26:07one of 71 for figueroa five of 66 for gonzalez great observation after they've been thrilled they
26:13just don't connect
26:17but if there's ever an adjustment that figure out can make is that the jab there it is set up everything
26:22with your lead hand wait for gonzalez to open up because he's gonna try to throw like you do and boom you
26:29throw you inside shots i mean we're already over a thousand punches through seven rounds of action
26:36as you can see by those coffee box stats it's gonzalez who is getting the better of the exchanges and i
26:42think that's showing up definitely on larry hazard's scorecard you wonder about the scorecards of the
26:46three judges on ringside now only round six for figuero which i also uh gave him and the first round
26:52nice body work for figuero early but then you see the recovery of joe gonzalez the ebbs and flow of each
26:59round favorite gonzalez figuero has moments but there's consistency from gonzalez's side
27:07and it's better work it's clean right-handed counter shots sometimes taking a half step backward
27:12to the spamming offense of figueroa it's got to be mentally frustrating as well for figuero you met
27:19your match tonight you got someone that is hitting as much as not more than you
27:25sell for figuero it's like man what do i do
27:29great work from the cut man of joe gonzalez here to be a strada tonight has not been a factor at all
27:35listen you gotta listen you gotta listen to me brendan okay you gotta get your head off the line
27:52don't stop leaving your head in the same place right you're working but the head's kind of
27:57move take a deep breath for me take a deep breath for me want some water in your head yeah yeah put
28:04your head down right you got that joe gonzalez not only is he comfortable in the pocket he is patient
28:14he waits for the right moment the opening there's the body shot he blocks a few shots high guard he
28:20waits for the right moment there's another another body shot a patient joe gonzalez touch him and go
28:27hard on the body touch him and go hard on the body okay let's go let's go let's go
28:33don't let him take you back you push him back turn it around you can hear some frustration in the voice
28:38of manny robles because he's been giving different instructions for brandon figuero to follow and
28:44yet it's pretty much been the same brandon here he comes out firing downstairs but he's gotta he keeps
28:51his head on the line that's the first instruction he got when he got to the corner he's right there
28:56you know who else joy and you call this fight frustrated at the moment uh navarrete i remember
29:02watching that fight and navarrete was frustrated at times because he was throwing shots and the high guard
29:07from gonzalez none of the punches were going in and the overhand land that right was landing from
29:12gonzalez so we're seeing a little bit of that in this fight figuero getting a little bit frustrated
29:16himself and and gonzalez making the right adjustments being patient right there that fight ended with a
29:23standing ovation from the crowd when we're in the fans so you really do understand how much heart joe gonzalez
29:30how much desire how those losses did not deter him from being here tonight continuing to pursue
29:36his dream not everybody has an easy path not everybody has that golden road and joey gonzalez
29:43if he ever wins the world title he will have earned it the hard way and it's something he talked about
29:48he said you do suffer more losses at times than wins in life outside the ring so he has the mindset
29:54that it's not always going to be perfect but if he puts in the hard work he keeps digging as he's doing
29:59right now to the body of figueroa he may be able to have big time breakthrough success and
30:03have more than halfway through this fight he's having that success
30:09chopping shot from figueroa to the back of the neck of joe gonzalez nice body shot there from joe
30:14it follows it up with an overhand right i mean just the inside work from joe gonzalez but it all has
30:20to do with the head placement of figueroa it's so predictable combination on the inside there from
30:25gonzalez
30:29there's been a lot of deterioration also for figueroa he's been in a lot of battles he's fought like this
30:35his whole career he took a lot of shots and a lot of these fights he won so it could also mean that
30:41that this is a fighter that's deteriorating that's you know little by little not being the same and
30:46we are not seeing the same figure out we did not see the same figure in the last fight he said he was
30:51upset but this fight i don't know what the excuse is going to be no trainer he definitely may be
30:57i mean he's known for a world-class chin world-class stamina but that can get chipped away as you
31:01mentioned the more you're willing to leave that chin out there square up and throw punches you see the
31:07blood emanating from the right eyelid of joe gonzalez since round two doing a great job keeping him in
31:16this fight that's a solid right head as gonzalez creates just enough distance to connect on figueroa
31:22whose head was where right there for the team and again in figueroa too uh worried about the body
31:29shots that he's not blocking his head i'm putting his head uh let's go guard up
31:47open it breathe breathe breathe breathe deep breath after the nose
31:50breathe breathe breathe breathe breathe
31:59and guess what we're gonna see more good work from joe gonzalez in the inside
32:10right hand pushing him with the with the shoulder there it is creating space creating a gap there it
32:16is there's the push right there to open up and to land that overhand right perfectly timed
32:23it's those little pushes that he's doing right there beautiful flurry right uppercut
32:29left uppercut good work right now from joe gonzalez and he keeps getting better and better every round
32:40round nine scheduled 12 rounder the world title eliminator for the featherweight world title
32:49brandon figueroa is gonna have to figure something out here in the final four rounds of this fight
32:54i mean you never know how the judges see it especially with figueroa constantly pushing
32:58the pace sometimes that activity can be rewarded but this has been a commanding breakthrough performance
33:05up to this point from joey gonzalez oh you're right yeah it's been figueroa at moments pushing
33:10joey gonzalez back but yeah most of the rounds is gonzalez commanding and landing the corner shots and if you're
33:19wondering maybe the onus of why figueroa wanted to switch trainers and go back as he says to the
33:24brandon of old some of that might be explained statistically in his last four fights at featherweight
33:28according to copy box he's only averaged 57 punches per round which is the featherweight average
33:33how about the eight previous fights at junior featherweight before that he averaged 97 punches per round
33:41that is the brandon of old but sometimes as we say the brandon of old can smother his own work
33:46and be too many arm punches
33:51and tonight he's finding a buzzsaw in joey gonzalez who punches between punches who finds that space to
33:58connect that right uppercut and then go downstairs to the body there's there's an answer for gonzalez for
34:04everything that figueroa does because they're so similar they're hard punches you can see they're both
34:10throwing similar shots body shot uppercut but it's the torque it's the turning it's the
34:16the power behind them and there's a lot more from gonzalez than figueroa and that does matter to judges the
34:22impact of the punches matters in a big way and oh that was a solid right uppercut from joey gonzalez on
34:30the inside that wakes up brandon figueroa but that was a damaging shot right on cue brian
34:38brian the hard punches are the eye catching they they do a lot of damage you see that sweat fly off
34:43the hair you can certainly guess how hard of a shot that was that was a left hook now from joey gonzalez the
34:50punch variation has been the difference in this fight because that's allowed him to land punches
34:56that figueroa does not see and just look at figueroa when he comes inside he looks down too he's not
35:02looking at his opponent like joet is yeah he's just throwing to throw he's not yeah i mean he's fighting
35:10like he's fighting a heavy bag at this point it's on field not even instinct at this point
35:17okay connected a jab from figueroa straight right from joey gonzalez let's see if figueroa can try to
35:29steal the end of this round but this was another joey gonzalez round
35:33oh that's all that hook there from figueroa
35:44you touched them up there at the end did you see what you did
35:46hey okay get the mouthpiece get the
35:49fucking mouthpiece
35:54get your head up and take a deep breath
36:05eh muy bien you're doing well
36:06mire dame la toalla
36:08that's what you did is when you were able to touch them up
36:17you need to be hard but you need to look at where you're not in the shot
36:20body shot and then the upper cut
36:22do damage turn them
36:24and then move your waist after the combination
36:28step and spin
36:31that's working for you
36:33work step and turn every time
36:35you heard the frustration in the voice of
36:40brandon figueroa's new trainer manny robles but then you heard the precise instructions of what
36:45he needed to do the only thing i didn't hear was what was the punch that hurt him because that
36:51then that would have been the clear instructions that he needed so he could throw it again
36:55you're you're so right about that bernardo you as a fighter you get there you
37:00what shot did i hurt him tell me coach what did i do at the end there's times that you don't
37:04remember what was your last shot and i think what he was trying to tell him i think he took a
37:08little step back and he landed some nice uppercuts figueroa towards the end but it was more
37:13gonzalez just overreaching
37:28problem i have with figuero's game plan is how many times can you watch the same thing
37:32not work not get the best of your opponent and not want to alter that dramatically he's trying to
37:39hear with the uppercuts and he lands an overhand left from figueroa maybe that's what he needed
37:46a little tucking to it because now john gonzalez seems a little bit hurt
37:52but you know he's going to answer with punches they're going to open up and you're going to be entertained
37:57it looks like some serious swelling around that cut of the right eye of gonzalez
38:06yeah those were all arm punches from figueroa but they did damage they did bother gonzalez he saw the
38:12body language he pulled back he was going backwards gonzalez and here it is figueroa is coming back in
38:18this 10th round hey sometimes we're talking about a fight we're like hey get off the ropes these guys
38:24didn't don't need ropes we didn't see a rep in this fight they didn't see the ropes our director just put
38:31them in there so we know that they're not alone in the ring that's good boxing
38:35they've had a similar amount of punches landed this round but this is a round in which figueroa has
38:45visually landed the bigger shots yes the first one in a long time and this is the first time
38:53where the body language the physical image of gonzalez can give the judges the the visual of hey he's
39:01losing this round i mean you can see the swelling now but both eyes yes from gonzalez look at his face
39:09he's swelling up
39:12still though gonzalez trying to flurry the body trying to make something happen here
39:17at least trying to make it as close as as i'm seeing this round but figuero definitely did a lot more
39:23more damage in this 10th round
39:41let's see how herpia strada goes to work on those cuts and swelling
39:44okay
39:59yes yes don't get care less baby come on don't care less baby come on keep keep your right hand out
40:05because he wants to catch you with a hook with the left hand okay
40:20two rounds man don't slow down baby he's going to come with everything he's going to come with
40:24everything don't get careless he's getting desperate he's getting desperate he needs to
40:29yeah guys you need to move it right there is of the guy who we think is winning the fight
40:35good point good point what are the referees and the judges seen i'm sorry the judges
40:40you see that face you might think otherwise
40:47let's see if figueroa can build on that last round or if gonzalez will have the antidote
40:52there's the unofficial scorecard from larry hazard 98-92 two of the last five rounds favoring
40:59i think figueroa but larry harrison scorecard which is very similar to mine is true at the end
41:05figueroa is going to need more than just some big shots he's going to need a knockdown and knockout
41:10to change his fortune right now but can he do that i think he can he has the gas tank he has the right
41:16intentions yes he's got the pressure he's got the volume he's got the body work i mean the last run
41:22it seemed like he bothered gonzalez so if he keeps going with that same mentality the same volume he
41:28just might he's got two rounds oh that was a nice right hand for joey gonzalez that stopped figueroa in
41:33his tracks overhand right and did he ever need that right hand joey gonzalez who stopped figueroa
41:41but look at figueroa it's a different guy he understood what worked for him in the previous
41:46round and now in the championship rounds where he excels where he knows he has the heart he's putting it
41:51on i'm loving the urgency excuse me of figueroa right now no you're right that's the old figueroa
41:57that's the figueroa we love watching oh how about that right championship wins another overhead right
42:04from joey gonzalez and where are they coming from from distance i would not be at this range if i was
42:10joey gonzalez it's fatigue also he's already tired this 11th round but yeah you gotta make those those
42:19switches all right take a deep breath take a step back and throw a hard shot and he's done that a few
42:25times gonzalez and he landed
42:33that's left uppercut on the inside joey as the head of figueroa does not move at all
42:38his output is dipped here considerably over the last 30 seconds
42:42stops to unload again to the body that's a big shot
42:48action cheating up here as figueroa is finally finding a home where he can punish joey gonzalez like
42:55he does there with a right uppercut a right hook this is one heck of a surge here for figueroa and just
43:01when you think that gonzalez is hurt he comes back and he lands his own flurry but right now
43:06it's been wrong like i get in a drill and surge off of that i can't even imagine what that's like in the
43:11ring after remember those leos had a group fight
43:16i'll never forget that i'll never forget that i'm sure you want to yeah so been there done that
43:21that's awesome what's it have
43:23the spin and the punches from figueroa sets up gonzalez for a quick combination
43:31where was this brandon figueroa earlier in the fight he had to wear gonzalez down first
43:37gotta look for that dog in you and he found it
43:40that joey gonzalez finishes every one of these fights looking like this but here's the corner
43:44figueroa all right there we go last round coming up papa this guy's only throwing punches and spurs
44:03right every now and then why because he's got no more legs right you just you gotta be you gotta be
44:09on point okay you gotta you gotta work your offense and then back all of it breathe breathe breathe
44:19breathe
44:23okay breathe it breathe breathe
44:26let's go
44:34there's actually a cut on the lip of joey gonzalez on the right side of his mouth it's also bleeding
44:41it seemed like that buckle up guys here we go look at figueroa with a running star with that right hand
44:47of the body either either of these fighters are going to take a step back this is the last round there has
44:53been some close rounds it seems like figueroa has won the last three perhaps four and joey gonzalez
45:01and the team the corner they know this so joey gonzalez has to go out there and close the show
45:06figueroa's favor he looks like the fresher fighter you wonder though
45:09maybe the judges were a little bit closer to his side in some of these close rounds
45:14is he in position here without a knockdown to potentially backdoor this decision
45:18if they get that far we're going to find out oh yeah but if you're your joey gonzalez you want to
45:26be smart you don't want to be in there waiting for figueroa to start doing what he was doing the
45:30last couple of rounds throw his flurries throw his hands out take a step back when what's working for
45:35you the distance there it is push him with the shoulder look larry hazard has it 107-102 what does your
45:44scorecard look like at this point i've got a 106-103 in favor of gonzalez here entering the in this final
45:51round it's a close fight i mean can figueroa drop gonzalez and maybe get closer but it only
46:02became a close fight once gonzalez started slowing down just enough for that constant pressure of
46:08figueroa to begin to overtake him and the face of joey gonzalez does not tell the story of this fight
46:17it just happens that this guy seems to end up looking like this time and time again nice left
46:23uppercut from figueroa then a left hook from the texas
46:26a lot of shots thrown by figueroa a lot of arm punches but it's more body from him and it's
46:35bothering gonzalez right now excuse me i'm very strong from distance more in this just a half step
46:39back and i think we're seeing the difference for figueroa when he does that he's landed six punches
46:44more but he's thrown 300 plus more surpassing the 1015 punch mark at this point for figueroa we
46:53told you it was going to be an offensive matchup and both fighters have delivered
46:59walk if you are a punch counter this evening
47:03i have some sore fingers
47:06look again for figueroa this is what he needed earlier on in this fight this is the fight that
47:14we expected from figueroa him to show his fun class him to show his experience he's doing it in the
47:19championship rounds and gonzalez continues to stand there toe to toe as we close out the final 10 seconds
47:26it's been a heck of a fight
47:32it's been a heck of a fight
47:36gonzalez they demand respect as they opened up tonight's pay-per-view with class with dignity
47:46with punches and they set the tone for what we will see tonight oh yeah they're getting the
47:52appreciation from the fans everyone clapping everyone's happy it was an entertaining matchup
47:58close rounds close fight figure all closing at the end let's see what happens you know what else we're
48:05interested in seeing what happens what's that in our main event and our jim gray caught up to the
48:10champion mario barris mario how are you handling this opportunity of a lifetime to beat potentially
48:19manny pacquiao i think i'm handling it well you know i'm excited uh fight day is finally here and
48:24i've been waiting for this um for this day these last couple months in camp uh fight week was good so
48:31yeah you know all the all the work is already put in and now it's time to just shine many years ago the
48:37great magic johnson played against dr j julius erving and julius had a great move and magic young in his
48:43career said you know what i didn't know whether to inbound the ball or ask him to do that again
48:48how do you not get mesmerized at any point that you're fighting against a legend
48:53you know i'm looking to take in you know this whole this whole moment you know that uh i know manny's
48:59you know has experience you know that you can't even put a label on and when it comes to this sport
49:05and uh i'm gonna be in there you know uh trying to adapt as much as i can you know trying to um
49:10trying to serve you know my my game plan and uh i'm pretty sure you know that he's gonna he's
49:14gonna do some things there that i've never seen before and uh and i'm just gonna soak it in you
49:18know just uh add it you know to two things i've seen before and uh yeah and just uh do what i can to
49:24make sure uh my hand is raised and do you think the longer this fight goes the better the opportunity
49:30for you because of his age because he hasn't fought in four years i'm not sure but you know
49:37i'm in there to to test him you know to test his body you know to see if you know if he can still
49:41compete at this level uh and yeah overall show him you know why i'm the current wbc champion
49:48mario best of luck we'll talk to you afterwards thank you
49:50thanks to jim gray and here the final concubox numbers okay 250 punches more thrown by figueroa
50:01he landed 17 more and that's a six percent difference in favor of joet gonzalez but look at
50:07the jab numbers we're talking about three of 123 and seven of 80 for gonzalez this was a power punch
50:14clinic just shy of 1900 total punches attempted by the two fighters in this 12 round bow
50:20wow five shy of that all right the hall of famer jimmy lennon jr had the decision
50:28ladies and gentlemen after 12 rounds of action we go to the scorecards with a unanimous decision
50:34here are the score totals judge at ringside chris migliore scores about 115 to 113 judges david
50:43sutherland and tim cheatham both scored about 116 to 112 all three in favor of the winner
50:53the heartbreaker brandon figueroa
51:01joey gonzalez just cannot catch a break gentlemen a winner by unanimous decision but two out of the
51:08the three judges gave figueroa its last six rounds you hear the boos in the crowd you hear the boos in the crowd
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