Omar Figueroa vs. Antonio DeMarco: Winner, Scorecard and Reaction

Omar Figueroa Jr. (26-0-1, 18 KOs) preserved his undefeated record on Saturday night at the AT&T Center in San Antonio, defeating Antonio DeMarco (31-6-1, 23 KOs) via unanimous decision in an action-packed, 12-round bout.

Bad Left Hook relayed the cards: 

For Figueroa Jr., a former lightweight titleholder, the win represented his first step toward challenging in a heavier weight class. He's struggled with health in recent years, but came into this bout feeling fresh and in a good spot after a solid decision win over Ricky Burns in May.

His work rate was impressive for the three-quarters of the bout, as he kept the power punches coming fast and furious. However, he tired at the end of the match, and his poor defense allowed DeMarco to land the best punches of the night and close the gap on the cards.

CompuBox provided the final punch stats: 

This bout was two divisions above both fighters' last bouts. Both boxers made weight, but Figueroa came in at two pounds heavier than DeMarco, a fact not lost on Queensberry Rules: 

Prior to the bout, Figueroa told ESPN's Brian Campbell, via ABCNews.com, that he was excited about the potential challenges in the heavier weight classes:

"

I live for the challenge, that's why I chose boxing over anything else that I could be doing. It's just whoever, whenever -- I don't care. If my team and [adviser Al] Haymon thinks I'm ready for whatever name he brings up next, I'm ready for them. That's about all I can do, which is to get ready and be thankful that I have a fight.

"

Figueroa certainly carried the extra weight better than DeMarco, moving around the ring with ease and forcing his opponent onto the ropes on a number of occasions. 

The strong finish from DeMarco—also a former lightweight beltholder—was impressive considering the damage he took. The 29-year-old briefly retired in June following a lopsided loss to Rances Barthelemy, but did well to justify his decision to come back and give Figueroa a much better fight than he perhaps expected.

Figueroa dominated the bout at the start. His relentless pressure overwhelmed DeMarco. The punches came fast and furious, whether it was in the middle of the ring or with DeMarco back to the ropes. A sustained barrage of power shots in the second round, with the two boxers fighting forehead to forehead, visibly gutted DeMarco.

Figueroa's ability to move in close and throw hooks took away DeMarco's height and reach advantages. Boxer Sergio Mora gave his take on what DeMarco needed to do to change the trajectory of the bout: 

A brutal exchange at the end of the third round drew cheers from the Texas crowd, with a DeMarco right hook serving as the best punch of the back-and-forth action. Take a look at the trading of close-range power shots, per PBC: 

Even then, Bad Left Hook didn't think the 29-year-old could keep up the pace: 

DeMarco indeed struggled to keep up with Figueroa's work rate in the middle rounds, but he did land some very clean shots that clearly hurt his younger foe.

After throwing so many punches in the first six frames, Figueroa slowed just a bit in the seventh. His head movement slowed a bit, allowing DeMarco to catch him flush with several hard punches to the head. Figueroa did well to keep his opponent close and take away his angles, but couldn't avoid taking the best-looking punches in the round, per PBC: 

Fatigue eventually set in for Figueroa. His struggled to keep his hands up, allowing a bloodied DeMarco to fight his way off the ropes, and his own punches weren't doing quite as much damage. 

The 11th round was DeMarco's most impressive. He waited out Figueroa's early charge then stunned him with a crisp combination. He poured it on from there, but couldn't get the 25-year-old to hit the canvas. USA Today's Mike Coppinger noted Figueroa's defense was lacking, and PBC has the highlights to prove it: 

DeMarco was the better boxer again in the final round. His counter hook was on point, and a couple of his power punches again appeared to stun an exhausted Figueroa.

Figueroa would survive the round and win the fight, but it was an overall unconvincing display after a bright start. His inability to really hurt DeMarco when he had a clear advantage in the earlier rounds came back to haunt him, and his defense was nonexistent for long stretches.

In a fight against an opponent hand-picked as a stepping stone to bigger and better things, Figueroa didn't do enough to show he's capable of working his way up to a real title challenge.