Unbeaten champions clash in a scheduled 12-round super bantamweight unification bout when WBC champion Brandon Figueroa meets WBO champion Stephen Fulton Jr. on Saturday. The bout will be the main event at Dolby Live at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. Figueroa enters the fight with a 22-0-1 record, including 17 wins by knockout. Fulton has not lost in 19 matches, which include eight knockout victories.
The main card on Showtime is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET, with the headliners expected to reach the ring by around 11:30 p.m. ET. Fulton is a -330 favorite (risk $330 to win $100), while Figueroa is priced at +260 in the latest Fulton vs. Figueroa odds from Caesars Sportsbook. The over-under for total rounds expected is set at 10.5. Before locking in any Figueroa vs. Fulton picks, make sure you check out the boxing predictions and betting advice from SportsLine expert Brandon Wise.
Wise, who is the combat sports editor for CBS Sports, is an experienced boxing analyst. Just three weeks ago, he accurately called a stoppage between rounds No. 10 and 12 for Saul “Canelo” Alvarez against Caleb Plant in their super middleweight unification bout. The proposition selection paid +450 and Wise also correctly called the fight to go over 9.5 rounds (-125) as Alvarez stopped Plant in Round 11. His strong 2021 boxing record also includes calling Jamel Herring (+105) to upset Carl Frampton (-125) in April.
Now, with Saturday’s huge fight approaching, Wise has studied Figueroa vs. Fulton from every angle and identified the best values in the boxing odds. You can only see his highly confident prop bets and money-line picks at SportsLine.
Why you should back Fulton
Fulton has had the tougher road to the unification bout, posting a pair of unanimous decision victories in his last two fights. Fulton defeated Arnold Khegai to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental super bantamweight title in January 2020 and had to wait a year due to COVID-19 before being able to face Angelo Leo. He defeated Leo in January to claim the WBO super bantamweight title.
Fulton was to face Figueroa in September but it was postponed twice, the second due to Fulton testing positive for coronavirus. Fulton comes into the match highly ranked. He is ranked the fourth-best junior featherweight by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, is third by The Ring, and is second by BoxRec. He began his boxing career in October 2014, knocking out Isaac Badger in the second round of a scheduled four-round bout.
Why you should back Figueroa
Like Fulton, Figueroa has been a dominant fighter. He has posted eight knockout wins in his last 10 fights. In his last match in May 2021, he knocked out Luis Nery at the 2:18 mark of the seventh round to win the WBC super-bantamweight title and retain the WBA (Regular) super bantamweight crown. Eight months earlier, Figueroa retained his super bantamweight title with a TKO of Damien Vazquez at 1:18 of the 10th round.
Figueroa’s only blemish to his record came in November 2019, when he received a split decision draw with Julio Ceja as he retained his WBA (Regular) super bantamweight crown. Figueroa turned pro in 2015 and won his first 20 bouts before the draw with Ceja. So who is Wise backing? He is only sharing his coveted picks here.
How to make Figueroa vs. Fulton picks
Wise likes the over 10.5 rounds. He’s also locked in a strong money-line pick and a pair of must-see prop bets. You can only see those picks at SportsLine.
Who wins Fulton vs. Figueroa? And which prop is a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to see Brandon Wise’s best bets for Saturday, all from the CBS combat sports specialist who has crushed his boxing picks in 2021, and find out.
