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Mike CoppingerESPN
Mark Magsayo and Brandon Figueroa are in the process of finalizing a deal for a March 4 featherweight bout in the U.S., sources told ESPN on Wednesday.
The PBC on Showtime bout would feature two of ESPN’s top 10 boxers at 126 pounds (Magsayo is No. 6 while Figueroa is No. 10).
Figueroa (23-1-1, 18 KOs) was in talks to meet Stephen Fulton in a rematch after the WBC ordered the matchup for its interim featherweight title. But with Fulton in talks to meet Naoya Inoue in Japan at 122 pounds, Figueroa is now slated to fight Magsayo in a battle of former champions that shapes up as a slugfest.
Figueroa, a volume-puncher from Weslaco, Texas, lost his 122-pound title via majority decision in a unification bout against Fulton that was one of the best action fights of 2021. The 26-year-old moved up to 126 pounds afterward with a sixth-round TKO of Carlos Castro in June.
Magsayo (24-1, 16 KOs) won his first title in January with a major upset, a majority-decision victory over longtime featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. Magsayo lost the 126-pound title in July to Rey Vargas via split decision in a grueling fight (he floored Vargas in Round 9.)
The 27-year-old Filipino is promoted by countryman Manny Pacquiao, one of boxing’s all-time greats.
ESPN Deportes’ Salvador Rodriguez first reported that the fight was in talks.