The newly crowned WBA featherweight champion was certain he had done enough to dethrone Nick Ball in the first 11 rounds of their 126-pound championship clash. The ever-aggressive American contender was also convinced he wouldn’t receive anything resembling a fair shake on the scorecards in Ball’s hometown of Liverpool, England.

That lingering doubt drove Figueroa (27-2-1, 20 KOs) to take out Ball (23-1-1, 13 KOs) as soon as the 12th round began at M&S Bank Arena.

Figueroa’s left hook knocked Ball flat on his face less than 10 seconds into the final round. A disoriented, but brave Ball beat the count. However, a flurry of punches from Figueroa planted Ball between the two bottom ropes a few seconds later and stunned much of a capacity crowd.

Referee Steve Gray ended their fight 32 seconds into the 12th round.

“It was amazing,” Figueroa told The Ring. “I saw how bad he was hurt. Nothing but respect to him, and I just went out there [and] finished it. You know, me and my team had worked really, really, really hard. We saw a lotta injustices here in Liverpool. You know, they were not gonna give us nothing, so you know, we were just excited, celebrating. You know, we came over here, all odds against us, and we left in a dramatic fashion.”

Figueroa didn’t specify which results in Liverpool intensified his skepticism about being able to win a decision there. While it’s always wise for fighters to eliminate the impact judges can have on their careers, Figueroa’s fears regarding scoring were unfounded.

Connecticut’s Glenn Feldman and London’s Marcus McDonnell had Figueroa in front by the same score, 106-103, through 11 rounds. Monte Carlo’s Jean-Robert Laine had Ball in front, 107-102, entering the 12th round.

“Like I said, they were not gonna give us nothing,” Figueroa said. “We were fighting in his backyard, all odds against us, but we finished strong, and I feel like we dominated. We dominated. Anyone that says otherwise, I don’t know. But we came out here, I showcased my love, my talent for the sport, and we left as a champion.”

CompuBox counted 35 more connections overall for Ball (249 of 567 to 214 of 757). The relentless Figueroa hit Ball with more power punches (177 of 504 to 132 of 318), according to CompuBox, which credited Ball for landing more jabs (117 of 249 to 37 of 253).

The 29-year-old Figueroa – a former WBA/WBC 122-pound champ from Weslaco, Texas – became a two-time featherweight titleholder. He lost the WBC featherweight crown two fights earlier to rival Stephen Fulton (23-2, 8 KOs), who defeated Figueroa by unanimous decision in their 12-round rematch a year ago at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.