SAN ANTONIO – If Carlos Castro would’ve followed his lead, Brandon Figueroa is certain Castro would’ve beaten Luis Nery, too.

Figueroa felt while watching Nery face Castro in Nery’s first fight following his knockout loss to Figueroa that Castro showed the former WBC 122-pound champion too much respect. The relentless Figueroa applied plenty of pressure and eventually knocked out Nery with a perfectly placed body shot during the seventh round of their fight for Nery’s WBC belt in May 2021 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Nery sent Castro to the canvas with a straight left hand just 52 seconds into their fight February 5, which Figueroa feels caused Castro to be apprehensive for the remainder of a 10-round bout Nery won by split decision. The 28-year-old Castro, who will fight Figueroa on Saturday night at Alamodome, lost for the first time as a professional to Nery.

“I felt he did the opposite of what I did to Nery,” Figueroa told BoxingScene.com. “He waited too much. I feel like he respected Nery a little bit too much. And maybe that knockdown was the [reason]. But I just felt like he was scared and had too much respect for Nery. And Nery saw that and just danced around him and took the fight to a decision. You can’t do that with a fighter like Nery. You have to put the pressure on him and be on him at all times, break him down and wear him down, just like I did.”

Judges Steve Weisfeld (96-93) and Max De Luca (95-94) scored Nery a winner over Castro. Judge Tim Cheatham credited Castro with a 95-94 win on the Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios undercard at Mandalay Bay’s Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas.

Mexico’s Nery (31-1, 24 KOs) caught Castro cold in the first round, which cost Castro in a high-stakes fight he had to win to remain in position to earn a 122-pound title shot.

“You know, he started off quick and I just didn’t expect it and I wasn’t ready for it,” Castro told BoxingScene.com. “But we live and we learn. I learned to not be comfortable, not get comfortable. As soon as that bell rings, that means fight. I went in there a little too cold, too comfortable, trying to wait for him. That’s just what it is. It’s just staying focused at all times.”

Phoenix’s Castro couldn’t get into a rhythm after surprisingly suffering that early knockdown, but his conditioning enabled him to recover and make their fight reasonably competitive.

Though the ever-aggressive Figueroa (22-1-1, 17 KOs) was much more successful against Nery, Castro (27-1, 12 KOs) didn’t hesitate to accept this difficult fight in a higher weight class. Figueroa also has moved up from the 122-pound division to featherweight for a WBC 126-pound championship elimination match Showtime will televise before a 12-round main event in which WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo (26-0, 14 KOs) will make the first defense of his title against Mexico’s Rey Vargas (35-0, 22 KOs), his mandatory challenger.

“I would’ve stayed at 122,” Castro said. “That’s the weight I’ve been comfortable at and that’s the weight that I keep on aiming for. But thankfully this opportunity came, and you can’t let opportunities go that easy.”

The Figueroa-Castro winner will position himself for an eventual shot at Magsayo or Vargas. The 25-year-old Figueroa, of Weslaco, Texas, also will attempt to bounce back from his first professional loss – a 12-round, majority-decision defeat to Philadelphia’s Stephen Fulton (21-0, 8 KOs) in their fantastic 122-pound championship unification fight November 27 at Park MGM’s Dolby Live in Las Vegas.

Most handicappers have made Figueroa at least a 6-1 favorite, but both boxers anticipate another fan-friendly fight.

“I know he comes to fight and he’s been in tough fights as well,” Figueroa said. “I just feel like he’s not as tested as I am. But it will be an exciting fight for sure.”

Showtime will air Figueroa-Castro immediately before Magsayo-Vargas. Showtime’s telecast, which will start at 9 p.m. ET, will begin with a 10-round lightweight bout in which Indianapolis native Frank Martin (15-0, 11 KOs) will meet Dominican veteran Jackson Marinez (19-2, 7 KOs).

“No one’s gonna wanna miss this fight,” Castro said. “It’s gonna be an action-packed fight.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.