It was far from a boring weigh-in, as the 1 PM PST event taking place in Ontario, California, saw former WBC featherweight champion, Mark Magsayo miss the featherweight limit prior to his vacant interim WBC featherweight title fight against Brandon Figueroa, on Saturday, March 4th, live on Showtime.
Figueroa, originally a super bantamweight, came in slightly under the 126 lbs. weight limit at 125.75, whereas Magasayo was a whole pound heavier at 126.75 lbs. This comes on the heels of various reports from correspondents seeing Magsayo in the hotel gym on Thursday evening using the treadmill for an extended period of time. Magsayo has until 3 PM PST to make the weight limit, if he can not making the weight, only Figueroa can win the vacant WBC interim featherweight world title.
“I have all the abilities. Everyone knows that I love to fight. I want to dominate my opponent, break them down and get them out of there. I train really hard to go in there and do what I do best,” said Figueroa on Thursday, as neither fighter spoke on the dais after the weigh-in. “I’m going to do anything it takes to win this fight. If I have to box, I’ll box. But if I can hurt him on the inside, I’ll get in there with body shots. I can beat him any way I have to.”
The other bouts went rather seamlessly as Jarrett Hurd weighed in at 159.25 lbs., and his opponent Armando Resendiz coming in at 161 lbs, a for a scheduled ten-round middleweight bout. The television opener will see Elijah Garcia, who came in at 158.5 lbs facing Amilcar Vidal, who weighed 159 lbs., in a middleweight bout that is also scheduled for ten-rounds.
“I wouldn’t say this is a step up too soon. This is something we’ve been preparing to do for years. The whole plan turning pro was to win fights. I’m 19-years-old and we’re aiming to fight for a world title in the next few years. If this is the route I have to go, then that’s what it’s gonna be,” said Garcia, who is not even the legal age to buy a beer in the state of California. “I’m not a big talker. I’ll let my performance speak for itself. He’s a good opponent and I’m sure he had a good training camp. But he’s not the only one. I’m more than prepared.”
Starting at 3:30 PM PST, Showtime Sports will feature three fights on their YouTube channel, with 2012 U.S. Olympian Terrell Gausha making156½ pounds as he faces Brandyn Lynch who hit the scale at 155.5 pounds, 10 round, catchweight bout. Rounding out the card we saw Travon Marshall, who is also trained by Andrew Council, weigh-in at 145.5, while former contender Justin DeLoach came in heavy at 147.25 pounds, a quarter pound north of the welterweight limit, DeLoach even used a towel to attempt to make weight. The YouTube opener will see Enriko Gogokhia, fresh off back-to-back draws, weigh in at 143 pounds as he takes on Philly’s Samuel Teah who came in at 14.5 pounds, in a ten-round catchweight bout.
“I feel good [coming off my injury], and I am ready to do what I do,” said Marshall to A-Side Boxing Talk, on YouTube about his upcoming fight. “It is important [to show the younger generation that dreams are possible], it wasn’t easy growing up. So me being who I am, and where I am headed, it [shows people] it is possible.”
