Omar Figueroa vs. Antonio DeMarco: Originally Saturday's PBC on NBC card was supposed to be a tripleheader. That was changed when Charles Martin pulled out of his fight with Dominic Breazeale because he was getting a shot at the vacant IBF title. So now the card will be a doubleheader and both fights that were originally scheduled to go 10 rounds will now go 12. The main event is a fight between Omar Figueroa (25-0-1, 18 KO) and Antonio DeMarco (31-5-1, 23 KO) and that fight will be in the junior middleweight division. Figueroa has quickly become a fan favorite because of his aggressive style. The 25-year-old is an orthodox fighter who loves to go toe-to-toe. While the young fighter has a heavy right hand his best weapon on his left hook. Defensively Figueroa isn't great but he has shown a good chin and is the type of fighter who doesn't mind eating a few punches to land one big one of his own. This will be Figueroa's first fight as a junior middleweight and his second fight of 2015 after he went to war with Ricky Burns earlier in the year. Figueroa will be taking on the veteran DeMarco who it is hard to believe is only 29-years-old. DeMarco is in desperate need of a win following back-to-back losses to Jessie Vargas and Rances Barthelemy. Head clashes could play a pivotal role in this fight because both men fight aggressively on the inside and while Figueroa fights out of the orthodox stance DeMarco does his work as a southpaw. DeMarco has a decent jab but this fight should take place in a phone booth so don't expect to see him use it very often. The veteran has a good right hook and does a nice job of landing uppercuts with his left hand in close. The best punch from DeMarco though is probably his straight left hand and if he does decide to fight from the outside his jab and straight left hand will come into play. This fight is now scheduled to go 12 rounds but it won't go the distance. This should be a hard fought fight from the pocket and the younger Figueroa will get the better of the exchanges on his was to a 10th round stoppage win.
Chris Arreola vs. Travis Kauffman: The newly bumped up co-feature on Saturday's card will be a 12-round heavyweight fight between Chris Arreola (36-4-1, 31 KO) and Travis Kauffman (30-1, 22 KO). Arreola, once thought of as a top heavyweight contender has hit the skids in recent years. In his past five fights Arreola has gone 2-2-1 with his last fight ending in a disappointing draw to Fred Kassi. While Kauffman has a nice looking record he has never faced any notable opponents and he does have a knockout loss on his record. Arreola fights out of the orthodox stance and he has some serious power, along with some serious flaws. His most glaring flaw is his weight which never seems to be under control and has really sabotaged his career. While Arreola is wild with most of his punches they all land with power, even his jab. Arreola has power in both hands and he has a strong left hook to go along with his best punch, his overhand right. However, in recent fights Arreola's chin has let him down and he typically fades late in fights due to his poor conditioning. Kauffman is also an orthodox fighter but he doesn't stand and trade heavy leather like Arreola likes to do. Instead Kauffman likes to work from the outside where he can land his jab and straight right hand. Along with those punches Kauffman has a solid left hook but his hands aren't as heavy as Arreola's are. While Arreola hasn't looked great late he has fought at a much higher level than Kauffman has and he needs to win thid fight to stay relevant. If Kauffman can stay on the outside he will win this fight but if Arreola can make things rough on the inside he should have the advantage and he will be able to do that and get the 9th round stoppage.
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