Former WBC lightweight champion Antonio DeMarco - 31-5-1, 23 KOs - will have to wait a little longer to come out of retirement. His scheduled opponent for a September 26 Premier Boxing Champions card on NBC, Omar Figueroa - 25-0-1, 18 KOs - has withdrawn from the bout due to injury. It’s not exactly a new story for Figueroa.
CURRENT ODDS
Check our online boxing odds for the latest bets you can make on the September 26 card. Heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder - 34-0, 33 KOs - will defend his title against France’s Johann Duhaupas - 32-2, 20 KOs - in the headlining bout. With daily updates from BookMaker, there should be plenty to bet on come fight night. And after each bout begins, live betting is also available.
THE GLASS FIGUEROA
In 2013, Figueroa capture the boxing world’s attention with consecutive first-round knockouts, then a unanimous decision over Nihito Arakawa, who he dropped twice to claim the 135-pound title. Since then, the promising 25-year old has struggled with injuries and consistency.
“The first fight in March was against Henry Auraad, and I knocked him out in 47 seconds. I was healthy for Abner Cotto, and knocked him out in one round as well,” Figueroa stated. “But then I hurt my hands during the process of fighting Arakawa, but that turned out to be a Fight of the Year candidate. The last fight that I was healthy for was the Arakawa fight.”
A left wrist injury forced Figueroa to pull out of a scheduled March 2014 title defense against Ricardo Alvarez. When he got back into one month later, he struggled mightily in earning a split decision win against Jerry Belmontes.
He returned in August 2014 to score a ninth-round TKO of Daniel Estrada, but suffered a cut over his left eye early in the bout. The gash forced Figueroa to the sidelines again for a few months. Figueroa returned nine months later at 140 pounds to beat ex-champ Ricky Burns. Again, he came away injured, this time with a severely damaged right hand.
Now, with his hand healed, the injury bug strikes again. This time, a sore left elbow has forced Figueroa to withdraw from his fight against Antonio DeMarco. This is really unfortunate, as it would have been awesome to see a young lion like Figueroa in the ring with a veteran brawler like DeMarco.
“We’ve gone through injuries before, so I just thought it was the usual soreness of getting back into the sparring eight, 10 rounds, of throwing my jab and my hooks and getting hit on it and all of that. I kept sparring but it just hurt more and more. It just wouldn’t go away to the point where even when I wasn’t training, my elbow would be hurting.”
Stepping up to replace DeMarco-Figueroa is a heavyweight clash between 2012 U.S. Olympian Dominic Breazeale - 15-0, 14 KOs and Fred Kassi - 18-3-1, 10 KOs.
HOW TO BET
Sign into BookMaker Sportsbook and get all the latest boxing odds, including money lines, totals and prop bets. The Wilder-Duhaupas card takes place on Saturday, September 26, 2015 at the Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. The card will be televised on NBC starting 8:30 p.m. ET.
Make sure to check in during fight night Wilder-Duhaupas card and get the latest live betting updates. You can bet on real-time odds during the bout, allowing you to hedge your bets or even make new ones as you watch on live television. And with multiple reliable payout options, collecting your earnings is always quick and easy.
