Omar Figueroa Jr. feeling comfortable at 140 pounds

Omar Figueroa Jr., right, won't be sweating to drop those last couple of pounds before taking on Ricky Burns on May 9.

Not weighing in at 135 pounds: Omar Figueroa Jr.

The unbeaten fighter is stepping up to 140 for the first time in his career when he takes on Ricky Burns at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, on May 9 for a Premier Boxing Champions card airing live on CBS at 4 p.m ET/1 p.m. PT.

The step up won’t be a tough one for Figueroa, who walks around at 160 to 165 pounds when he’s not in training. So instead of modifying his intake or changing up his training routine, Figueroa is just loosening the noose on the diet a bit.

“I don’t really have to do anything. For me, it’s just not sacrificing as much when it comes to losing the weight,” he said. “I’m able to do more strength exercises and stuff like that, but aside from that, everything pretty much stays the same. It’s less wear and tear on my body. The diet is always strict, but it’s a bit more lenient. It’s making things a lot easier.”

Typically, Figueroa is down to around 142 two or three weeks out from a fight, meaning he’d have to shed about seven to make weight. It might not sound like a lot, the difference between trimming two pounds and seven, given how much weight fighters typically have to lose before a fight—but it’s always those last few that are a killer.

“Yeah,” Figueroa sighed. “They suck.”