Brandon Figueroa added the WBC Super Bantamweight title to his WBA (Regular) belt, as he knocked out Luis Nery in seven rounds in a toe-to-toe war in Carson, California.
The pair came into the clash unbeaten in a combined 53 fights, and Nery walked in as a two-weight world champion, having previously reigned at Super Bantamweight, while WBA title holder Figueroa was making the third defence of his belt.
Nery began with menace, setting his stall out by using his jab effectively and also nailing Figueroa with a left hand that momentarily stunned the WBA champion in round one.
The WBC champion then went after the blood of Figueroa in the second, and the pair exchanged spiteful punches to the mid-section, and Figueroa was wide open as the Mexican was getting the better of the warfare with some clean shots, especially on the counter.
The pair went to war to begin the third, but again, Nery was timing his opponent well, although Figueroa was having his successes when several Nery shots fell short.
Defence was pretty much an after thought here, and the two again worked at close quarters in the fourth, almost too close at times as they traded wild shots in what was frantic action.
Figueroa sunk in a body shot to begin the fifth frame, and Nery winced before deciding to create more range and box for the first time in the contest, his jab proving to be a good weapon.
Nery was trying to set traps for his opponent in the sixth, but Brandon invested well again to the body, and the rounds were hard to score with so many punches being thrown.
With the fight being fought at such a frenetic pace, it never looked likely to see the final bell, and the second half of the fight began with Figueroa enjoying a successful seventh round, and he managed to find a finish, as a flurry of wicked body punches had Luis in all sorts of trouble as he writhed in pain on the canvas. He was unable to beat the count, and just like that, the fight was over.
Figueroa now moves on to a September 11 showdown with WBO champion, Stephen Fulton, in what will be a three belt unification clash.
“It feels amazing, a dream come true since I was seven years old,” said the winner to Showtime post fight.
“We did our homework, did a hell of job in the gym, and just took it to him. My plan was to break him, and I did just that. I knew he was getting tired and the pressure was getting to him.
“I know he [Fulton] is gonna come with everything, and we will give the fans a great show.”
Former unified Super Bantamweight champion, Daniel Roman, continued his rebuild since losing his WBA (Super) and IBF crowns in January 2020, as he took a clear ten round decision win against Ricardo Espinoza Franco.
Two scores of 98-92, and a third at 97-93 gave Roman a comfortable enough win.
Another man banking ten rounds was Xavier Martinez, and the Californian Lightweight moved to 17-0 with a wide win on the scorecards against former world title challenger, Juan Carlos Burgos.
It was a fight fought in a phone booth, but Martinez had much the better of the action, and he took the win by three scores of 99-91.
There were first round wins on the card for Jose Valenzuela, who halted Nelson Hampton at Super Lightweight, while at Lightweight, Justin Cardona scored three knockdowns in an early victory over James De Herrera.
Gabriela Fundora made her professional debut, and the Super Flyweight scored a second round knockdown before recording a four round points win against Jasmin Valverde.
Two scores of 40-35, and a third at 39-36 confirmed a first win for the 19-year-old.
