If you took one glance at Brandon Figueroa, the last thing he looks like is a gym warrior. From a boxing perspective, he’s one of the best around, but physically, the 26-year-old looks as though he’s never lifted a single weight in his life.

He’s tall, lanky, and flashes one of the brightest smiles you’ll ever see. That grin, however, was absent whenever he was forced to make weight. Figueroa skipped out on a few more meals one final time and attempted to unify the super bantamweight division against Stephen Fulton in 2021. After he came up just short, he handed himself a reprieve and moved up in weight.

So far so good as Figueroa has picked up two consecutive wins and the WBC interim title. For now, the former champ is playing the long game. He’s hoping to eventually face Fulton in a rematch in the near future. He’s also keeping his fingers crossed and praying that he’ll be able to aggregate a few belts in his new division.

There’s an end game for Figueroa, somewhat. Emanuel Navarrete has gotten a ton of attention over the years. He’s slinked through a handful of divisions and pilfered at least one title along the way.

Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) has always been impressed by him. That reverence only increased following his lopsided win over Oscar Valdez. The two might be campaigning four pounds a part, but Figueroa believes that, if they do meet, fans would love the all-out brawl that would break out.

“He’s a really awkward fighter, he throws a lot of punches but I do too,” Figueroa told 210 Boxing TV. “That’ll be a really interesting fight to make and I know it’ll be very exciting.”

A matchup against Navarrete is mouthwatering but Figueroa isn’t spending too much time daydreaming about it. There are a ton of names that he eventually wants to jump into the ring with, including Naoya Inoue and Rey Vargas.

Fighting all of those aforementioned names may not be sagacious in terms of his record but for Figueroa, he wants to prove that he deserves to be mentioned amongst the best fighters on the planet.  

“I want to be one of the best in boxing.”