Omar Figueroa Jr. prepared despite Adrien Broner’s abrupt exit from Saturday’s main event

Understandably upset with his original opponent’s withdrawal days before their fight, Omar Figueroa Jr. considers it yet another hurdle to overcome not only in his boxing career but life.

Figueroa was scheduled to fight four-division world champion Adrien Broner in the main event of a card Saturday night at Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood. Broner threw a wrench to the promotion when he backed out of the fight Monday, citing mental problems.

For Figueroa, an ex-world lightweight champion, Broner’s reason to step aside struck a nerve. Figueroa has admitted how mental health issues have affected him. The native of Weslaco, Texas doesn’t want to completely disbelieve Broner and will sympathize considering the severity of the topic and his own battles. But the move so close to fight night and Broner’s checkered career of legal problems and conditioning issues, made Figueroa skeptical.

“I was angry in that moment because he was using mental health as an excuse, when it’s something I’ve been dealing with for the past year and a half,” Figueroa said after a media conference at the fight venue Thursday. “If it is true, that he’s looking after his mental health, then I commend him for it. But if not, that’s the lowest thing you can do and that’s why I was so mad.”

Instead of wasting two months of preparation for Broner, Figueroa welcomed late replacement Sergey Lipinents as his new opponent. The Figueroa-Lipinets 140-pound bout, which will be televised by Showtime, headlines a 10-fight card.

“What’s done is done,” Figueroa said. “I’ll have my hands full with Lipinets so I’m looking forward to that.”

After fighting his last four matches at welterweight, Figueroa (28-2-1, 19 KOs) will move to super-lightweight for Lipinets. Figueroa also is seeking to overcome consecutive losses, including a sixth-round TKO defeat against Abel Ramos in his recent ring appearance 15 months ago.

“I prefer this new change of style, having to chase Broner and having to deal with his antics, I wasn’t looking forward to that,” Figueroa said. “It just complicates the fight. We know that Sergey is going to be standing there waiting for me.”

While fighters crave for championship glory, the 32-year-old Figueroa understands careers have their unique paths and the lofty ambitions often crash to earth. If he doesn’t experience another title reign, Figueroa is content. But Figueroa also would have a better appreciation if he wins another belt.

“I had an introspective journey this past year and I realized it’s not just about myself but about everyone around me and my whole life in general,” Figueroa said. “For the first time, I got to enjoy boxing.

“I had it pretty bad growing up, I hated myself, I hated the sport but this past year was full of introspection. It was full of healing and me fixing myself and helping myself. I feel like I finally got to a point where I’m happy with my life. I made peace with everything. It was a huge step in my mental health and getting better.”

Even at his career apex, when he defeated Nihito Arakawa for a sanctioning body lightweight belt in 2013, Figueroa didn’t experience the thrills of winning a title.

“That probably led me to the lowest moment of my life,” Figueroa said. “I had given so much of my life to boxing and to winning that title. And when I did, it wasn’t really what I wanted. It was something that I did because I was forced to do. There was a lot of negative stuff that came with it.

“Now that I cleared some of that baggage, I would love to win another world title and win it for myself. Win it because of me and because I want to.”

A former 140-pound champion, Lipinets (16-2-1, 12 KOs) originally was scheduled to face Carlos Manuel Portillo in Saturday’s show. Lipinents, of Kazakhstan, has not fought in 16 months.

“Anything can happen, especially at the last moment,” Lipinets said through a translator of the late change in opponent. “I want to be a world champion again and a force to be reckoned with.”

In addition to the Figueroa-Lipinets fight, Saturday’s show will feature two title bouts. Venezuela’s Roger Gutierrez will defend his WBA super-featherweight title against the Dominican Republic’s Hector Garcia, while the Dominican Republic’s Alberto Puello and Uzbekistan’s Botirzhon Akhmedov will fight for the vacant WBA super-lightweight belt.