Lost It on the Scale: Figueroa Comes in 1.4 Pounds Heavy, and Now Only Kameda Can Leave Vegas With the WBA Belt

UPDATE (Oct. 17): The fight is off. Figueroa fell ill after his weight cut and the Kameda bout was cancelled Saturday. Read the latest.

Brandon Figueroa didn't lose his title to Tomoki Kameda. He lost it to the scale.

The WBA featherweight champion stepped on at 127.4 pounds Friday morning in Las Vegas, 1.4 over the 126-pound limit, for what was supposed to be the first defense of the belt he took from Nick Ball in February. Kameda was already in under the limit. Figueroa had an hour to lose the rest.

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He didn't make it in time. Dan Rafael first reported that Figueroa "did not weigh a 2nd time" and lost the title at the scale. Rafael then clarified that Figueroa did come back and weighed 126.8, but by then he had already blown past the commission's one-hour window, so it didn't count as an official attempt. The Ring has the same 126.8 number. Either way, the result is the same. The belt is gone before the first bell.

So here's where we are. If Kameda wins Saturday night, he leaves as the WBA featherweight champion. If Figueroa wins, the title stays vacant. As Chris Mannix put it on X: "If Kameda wins, he will win the belt. If Figueroa wins, it stays vacant."

Is the fight still on? As of Friday afternoon, it looks that way. The Ring reports that representatives for both fighters are negotiating a penalty for Figueroa for missing weight, but that the fight is expected to happen. Nobody has announced a fine number yet. Figueroa also skipped Friday's ceremonial weigh-in, and DAZN's official account framed it as Kameda having a chance to become world champion tomorrow night.

If it goes, it's still the co-feature to Sebastian Fundora's WBC 154-pound defense against Ermal Hadribeaj, Saturday, Oct. 17, at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. The card starts at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TNT and DAZN, with The Ring also listing truTV in the U.S.

Let's talk about what this costs Figueroa, because it isn't just a belt.

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This is a guy who just told everybody he wanted the big fights at 126. A few days ago he called Rafael Espinoza the No. 1 guy in the division, which we covered when Figueroa gave Espinoza his flowers. And the biggest fish of all is swimming his way. Naoya Inoue has said he's preparing for featherweight, and he isn't waiting around for Bam. Mike Coppinger summed it up on X: "With Naoya Inoue set to move up to featherweight next year, this could end up being VERY costly for Figueroa."

Think about it. Being a titleholder is your seat at the table. That's what gets you the Inoue call. Without the belt, Figueroa is a big-punching former champion asking for a meeting.

And Kameda? This is a gift he probably didn't see coming. The 35-year-old from Osaka (42-5, 23 KOs) was the WBO bantamweight champion more than a decade ago, from 2013 until he lost to Jamie McDonnell in May 2015. Here's a nice bit of trivia from The Ring: Figueroa made his pro debut on that same card. Kameda's last swing at a featherweight title was a majority-decision loss to Angelo Leo for the IBF belt in May 2025, and he hasn't fought since.

Now he walks in as the only guy in the ring who can actually win something.

Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) is still the bigger man, the harder puncher and the favorite in this fight. He's 29, and he's 5-foot-9 against Kameda's 5-foot-7 and a half. Some guys come in heavy and look like they took the weight cut out of their legs. Others show up Saturday looking like a light heavyweight compared to the other guy. We'll find out which one Figueroa is.

And here's the part nobody likes to say out loud. A fighter who stops cutting a pound and a half early can feel a little stronger on fight night, and the guy who made weight pays for it. That's a problem for Kameda, and it's exactly why commissions and sanctioning bodies hate this stuff.

Who do you like now? You can still make your picks for Saturday's card on Boxbid, including Fundora-Hadribeaj. Guess the rounds right and the points are yours. We'll have the result here when it's done.