Omar Figueroa Jr. has given himself every fair chance of living up to the expectations of his fight with Abel Ramos potentially stealing the show this weekend.

The highly anticipated welterweight showdown has been pegged as a can’t-miss affair as part of Saturday’s four-fight Fox Sports Pay-Per-View event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The bout marks the first ring appearance for Figueroa (28-1-1, 19KOs) since a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in July 2019, having spent most of the past two years rediscovering his fighting desire.

“We had a hot camp,” Figueroa insisted during the final undercard pre-fight press conference Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles. “We had the type of camp we used to have ten years ago when I was happy and healthy.”

Figueroa was at his best during his memorable rise through the lightweight ranks. The all-action fighter from Weslaco, Texas claimed the WBC interim lightweight title in 2013, receiving an upgrade to “World” champion and making two successful defenses before moving up in weight in 2015.

His career has since grown stagnant, struggling with weight and out-of-ring distractions which has limited his progress to just five fights spanning three weight divisions over the past six years. The 31-year-old is now ready to prove that he still has plenty to offer the sport, beginning with an expected war with Ramos (26-4-2, 20KOs) this weekend.

“It’s not this renewed love. I just got rid of the aches and pains, all of the (baggage) I had been carrying my whole life with boxing,” insists Figueroa. “I’m healthy, I’m happy… no distractions and we’re just here to work.”

The bout serves as the chief support to a heavyweight battle between former unified titlist Andy Ruiz (33-2, 22KOs) and three-time title challenger Chris Arreola (38-6-1, 33KOs).

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox