Age: 26

Hometown: Atlantic City, New Jersey

Weight class: junior middleweight

Height: 5-foot-10 (178 cm)

Amateur record: 37-5

Turned pro: 2022

Pro record: 11-0 (9 knockouts)

Trainer: Johnny Gibbs

Manager: Jolene Mizzone

Promoter: None

Twitter: @justintimefig

Best night of pro career and why: Figueroa is coming off a third-round stoppage over Freddy Espinoza in July 2024.

"I believe my last performance was probably the best night of my career so far," Figueroa told The Ring. "I find myself getting each fight. Anything to win and that's where I'm at now."

Worst night of pro career and why: The 26-year-old won his first five fights inside the distance before being stretched by Jeff Lentz in July 2023.

"I had some trouble, I believe my sixth fight where I was knocking out all my opponents and I didn't knock this guy out," he said. "There were some questions. The fight went to the decision and all I was worried about after that fight was becoming more of a complete fighter.

"After that fight that was the main focus, working on my inside game, all aspects of boxing inside that ring. I had to change up my style a little bit and make style very, very diverse."

What's Next: Figueroa will return against Mario Rios (10-3-1, 7 KOs) on a Boxing Insider Promotions event to showcase East Coast fighters from The Showroom from the Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, live on DAZN, on Saturday.

"I'm just going to go in there and put on the best show I can. I got lot of rounds of sparring so far," he said. "I think I'll seize the opportunity coming up and I'll end the year in a bang in front of all my people in Atlantic City.

"I'm excited for this fight coming up, I get to show I'm getting better with every fight."

Rios turned professional in 2012. The Argentine-born fighter won his first five of his first six fights before coming unstuck against Christian Mino (KO 3). He came back with a three wins but lost to then unbeaten Gabriel Pereiro (UD 10). After two wins, he retired for 8-years but came back late last year when he was stopped by unbeaten Alex Bray (TKO 1).

Why he’s a prospect: Figueroa started boxing at a young age but wasn't a big amateur.

"Most of my amateur fights were as a kid coming up," he said. "My dad put some gloves in me around 5-years-old and I started competing around 10-years-old and I believe I wracked up around 20ish fights from 10-12.

"I played a lot of sports, which I don't regret taking me away from the ring because it made me an all-around athlete and I believe it's made me an all-around boxer."

Though he never left boxing completely, it was no longer his primary focus. After Figueroa graduated from high school, he started to feel the pull again.

"I got back into boxing because I was about 215-pounds due to football," he said. "I wanted to lose some weight and get the beach body for the ladies down here.

"I got back into the boxing gym and as I'm training for boxing, it's a great workout to lose weight, I got down to around 178/ 185-pounds and started moving around with the pros in the gym, when I was 18 and I forgot how good I was at the sport.

"After that I kept seeing the potential and keep it going from there. When I fought Nasheed S. Smith in Carolina Gloves and won the tournament, I kept seeing the potential. In 2021, I think I went 8-2 and one of those loses I avenged and another one of the loses, I lost to the No. 1 in the country, but I thought it was a very close fight.

"I kept winning and kept seeing the potential and then turning professional and winning the first few fights, I kept seeing the potential and all the way to my last fight, I'm seeing the potential and that's what really keeps me going."

Figueroa has sparred amongst others former unified junior middleweight titlist Julian Williams, rising star Vito Mielnecki and unbeaten prospect Dwyke Flemmings Jr.

Figueroa feels he brings several attributes to the ring.

"My coach tells me I have God-given speed, all-around athlete from playing sports, wrestling, baseball, football, basketball. Good footwork, good movement, I'm illusive, so I bring that to the ring," he said. "I believe I'm a solid 154-pounder, so I bring a lot of strength. I do bring a lot of skill. I'm becoming a complete fighter, I believe I am bringing almost everything to the table at this point.

"I look at myself like there's no missing gaps but of course there's always going to be missing gaps and I'm always willing to work on them, that's what keeps me going to the gym every day. When I don't feel like going to the gym, that drives me to the gym because I know I have things to work on and get better on and I do want to become that complete fighter so I can perform on fight night for all my people that come out and spend their hard-earned money."

Jolene Mizzone known previously as Main Events matchmaker and now as a manager, who includes WBO welterweight titlist Brian Norman amongst her clients, likes what she sees in Figueroa and thinks he has the potential to go far.

"There are very few in this business that can become the total package, there is a thing in this business we call the “IT” factor and that is Justin," she said. "He is marketable and can fight. He is only 25-years-old and didn't have as much amateur experience as others but he is learning on the job. He is a gym rat which can't hurt him either.

"He was a former lifeguard for Atlantic City Beach Patrol and had to leave last year to focus more on his boxing career. He is a student of the game and wants to learn inside and outside of the ring. Atlantic City used to be a hot bed of boxing, and I believe Justin is the one who can bring it back!"

Something that strikes you when you speak to Figueroa is his desire, not just inside the ring but also outside it. He studious and always looking to improve, that alone will give him an edge over some and possible help overcome areas he's not as strong in.

Why he’s a suspect: Figueroa doesn't have that strong amateur pedigree, however, as Mizzone points out he is evolving quickly into a well-rounded fighter. It will be interesting to see just how much better he can become.

He's only 26 and is still at six-round level, so there is clearly a lot for him to learn at this stage.

"I remember when I first turned professional and I was watching world class fighters and I was like, 'I have the same skills as these guys,'" he said. "And I'm trying to figure out the difference. These guys are so comfortable standing right in front of you and making you miss. These guys aren't anxious inside the pocket, aren't nervous.

"I believe that's what I was missing because at first I was more a backfoot fighter. I liked to use my feet; I liked to counterpunch. I grew up watching Floyd Mayweather and Andre Ward. I started to develop more of a Mexican style and that's what I was saying about being more of a complete fighter, being able to box, sit in the pocket and also bang. So, I'm learning all ins and outs of that."

Figueroa says he can overthink things and just needs to let his skills do the talking.

"When I do get into the ring, I like to study a bit and I think that will take me to the next level," he admitted. "I need to just let my hands go and not study my opponents so much. Work my strategy right away and don't let my opponent break my strategy.

"It's tough to right now to pick out what are the flaws, and you won't be able really pick it out until the competition steps up," he said. "I can't really name anything now."

Storylines: Figueroa was born and raised in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

"I grew up pretty rough," he said. "I definitely matured as a person and as man as I grew up, cleaned myself up a bit. We have the glitz and glamor of the casino's, boardwalk and the beach. It's very easy to get distracted."

He points to an example very close to home.

"Me and my brother grew up in the same household, same parents, same opportunity but I loved playing sports, it always took me away from hanging out on the streets with the wrong crowd," he explained. "I was able to get a scholarship to a catholic school to play football, that helped me mature also being around certain people at the school. They helped straighten out my character.

"On the other hand, my little, he didn't really like to train too much so his boxing career didn't go too far. He wasn't too into sports. He liked to hang around, so he got along with the wrong crowd in the streets, and he ended up getting into trouble, doing some jail time. It's all about who you surround yourself with an occupy your time."

He says he owes a lot to his current manager, Jolene Mizzone, formerly the matchmaker of Main Events.

"When I was turning professional, nobody was taking notice for about six-months, no managers, no promoters but me and my coach we kept training every day, we knew our time was going to come, somebody was going to give us an opportunity," he recalled.

"So, there was a local promoter who gave us an opportunity, he knew when I fought here as an amateur in Atlantic City there were a lot of people came out and he would hear the bar tabs for the venues would he high, so they offered me a contract, but it wasn't a contract I was fond of.

"I didn't know what to do because I didn't want to get played out, I'd just got into this boxing game. I was doing some research and picked up a box, "Protect yourself at all Times" by Adrian Clark, which I give a lot of credit because he really put me on with Jolene Mizzone. I read his book and the contract I was reading was pretty fishy, but there were something things I read in the contract that I didn't see in the book. By the grace of God, I found Adrian on Instagram and I and I reached out to him and he reached right back, I asked him some questions on the contract and he told me to hold off on the contract and that's exactly what I did. A couple of days later, he gave me a call and said, 'I have someone I would really like you to work with." And it was Jolene Mizzone, when me and Jolene met, we hit it off right away and I'm here where I'm at today. You don't want to wait for an opportunity, I believe I went and opened up the opportunity for myself. Me and Jolene getting together isn't by osmosis, it's because I decided to put the extra work in and here, I am with one of the best managers in the game."

Figueroa is driven to be successful in boxing.

"I'm using boxing as a vehicle, I'm having a lot of fun," he said. "I love what I do, I love training, I love boxing, I love being competitive.

"Hopefully I can take it to world champions status, if not, I believe boxing has done a lot of great things for me. [I've] made a lot of great connections in Atlantic City, the experiences I've had so far. I'll always cherish these moments of being a professional boxer.

"If I could be champion of the world, I could in my grave and rest in peace happily ever after."

He has a girlfriend and says while she tries to get him to relax and enjoy a movie, but his mind is often focused on boxing.

"I watch one here and there, but I just want to watch boxing, I want to study boxing," he said.

"I like to walk my dog but even then, I'm doing breathing exercises and thinking about boxing. At the moment my only hobby is boxing, and I think that's what makes me a professional. Boxing is on my mind 24/ 7."

Fight-by-Fight

2024

Nov. 16 - Omar Rosales - TKO 4

July 26 - Freddy Espinoza - KO 3

May 11 - Antonio Armas - RTD 4

March 30 - Christian Aguirre - UD 6

Dec. 14 - Jerome Clayton - KO 3

July 22 - Jeff Lentz - UD 6

May 20 - Antwion McCollough - TKO 1

March 25 - Manuel Moreira - TKO 2

Feb. 11 - Rahiem Cooke - TKO 3

Nov. 12 - Jeremiah Kendrick - TKO3

Aug. 20 - Tavaris Smith - KO 1