Figueroa Gets UD Win Over DeMarco

By Marc Livitz at ringside in San Antonio, TX: Omar Figueroa won an extremely close war of wills this evening over ring tested Antonio DeMarco at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, TX. The undefeated fighter from Weslaco, Texas looked exhausted and puffy faced at the bout’s conclusion due to DeMarco’s constant pressure.

Omar pursued Antonio early and pushed him to the ropes in the opening minute of the contest. The action moved to a corner halfway through and DeMarco pushed and punched his way out. Figueroa (26-0-1, 18 KO’s) was the aggressor while his Tijuana opponent showed some old school craftiness. Back and forth the tide went to begin the second. DeMarco (31-6-1, 23 KO’s) would test the mettle of the kid from south Texas. The punches were being exchanged at close quarters. Figueroa had shown his resolve in past fights and Antonio was looking to test it once again. The closing moments of the third turned into a back and forth swap of hooks to the face.

They leaned into one another throughout much of the fourth while each man seemed to be waiting for the perfect time to set their respective hands free. DeMarco kept looking for the head shot as Omar continued to leave much of his body open to assault. Figueroa stood in front of Antonio as he threw his shots to the face. His foe from Baja California retuned the favor, just not quite as often or with the same amount of power. Round six saw Omar connect on a few straight shots to the head and Antonio tag right back to close the stanza.

The seventh belonged to Antonio DeMarco. His jab was giving Omar problems just as much as when his left followed to the head. Figueroa was beginning to fight a different fight in round eight. He chose to stay back and use his jab as if he knew his close in approach would come at a price. As before, DeMarco scored with his jab and trailing glove. They traded time on the ropes and reception of hard shots, mostly to the head throughout much of the ninth. Antonio doubled the jab with precision. The bout moved into the double digits.

Not much changed between the two combatants. Omar landed a loud right to the body midway through the tenth. Antonio connected slightly below the belt which granted the Weslaco boxer a slight reprieve to end the period. Shot after shot landed for DeMarco to begin the eleventh. Omar looked dazed and hurt. He slowed matters to his preferred pace once again and pushed DeMarco to the ropes. No one could likely explain why he took so long to figure out that his Tijuana opponent would not go away at any cost. The bout would go twelve. Only three minutes stood between a stoppage or decision.

DeMarco begged Figueroa to fight to begin the last round. He landed more snapping head shots and threw his arms out in a beckoning gesture. They traded shots down the stretch and the crowd showed their love. The final round took the place of the previous twelve in terms of excitement.

There would be no knockdowns or a knockout. The judges turned in scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113....all to Omar Figueroa for a unanimous decision win.