Figueroa loses WBA featherweight title after failing to make weight; Kameda firmly set on win

FILE PHOTO: Figueroa (in picture), a former super bantamweight world champion, enters the fight 27-2 with one drawn and 20 knockouts, while Kameda is 42-5 with 23 knockouts. | Photo Credit: AP

Brandon Figueroa lost his World Boxing Association featherweight title on the scales on Friday when the American failed to make weight for Saturday’s bout against Japan’s Tomoki Kameda, organisers said.

The fight will be contested as scheduled in Las Vegas with Kameda able to take the crown with a victory and the title remaining vacant if Figueora wins.

Figueroa, a former super bantamweight world champion, enters the fight 27-2 with one drawn and 20 knockouts, while Kameda is 42-5 with 23 knockouts.

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Figueroa, 29, missed the 126-pound (57.1kg) weight limit by 1.4 pounds and surrenders the title he took from Britain’s Nick Ball last February without ever defending it.

Kameda, 35, was the World Boxing Organisation bantamweight champion in 2013 and 2014 and has not fought since May 2025 when he lost a title bout to International Boxing Federation champion Angelo Leo of the United States.

“It’s disrespectful,” Kameda said through a translator. “I suffered too. I did my thing. I’m ready for tomorrow. It has been 18 months since I fought. Look how shredded I am. I’m ready.