We had a bit of drama leading into the Brandon Figueroa versus Mark Magsayo weigh-in as Magsayo came in nearly a full pound over the weight limit at 126.75 lbs. That said, we will have a title fight tomorrow from the Toyota Arena, in Ontario, California, as Magsayo did in fact make weight for this contest on Friday afternoon, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Ontario, California.
Figueroa came in at 125 3/4 lbs, slightly under the 126 lbs featherweight limit, whereas Magsayo was originally heavy coming in at 126.8 pounds. Magsayo would use nearly the whole two-hour window in order to weigh in at 126 lbs. This means the winner of tomorrow’s main event will in fact be the new WBC interim WBC featherweight champion.
“Mark Magsayo supporters erupt in joy as Magsayo makes the 126-pound limit on his second attempt,” said Ryan Songalia of Ring Magazine who was covering the event in Ontario, California, tweeted out with a video. "Magsayo will face Brandon Figueroa tomorrow for the WBC interim featherweight title in Ontario, Calif., live on Magsayo used one hour and 53 minutes of his allotted two hours. Had Magsayo failed to make weight on his final attempt, the WBC belt would’ve only been at stake for Figueroa.”
Magsayo had to remove all of his clothes in order to make the aforementioned weight as he was able to come in right on the weight limit.
“I’m not a big talker, but there’s going to be a knockdown in this fight. We’re ready to take advantage,” said Magsayo yesterday at the weigh-in.“I’m very excited for this fight. It’s a good opportunity to get back to a world title fight. I’ve learned from my mistakes and I’m ready to go.”
For Magsayo he will look to regain a form of the WBC featherweight title, as he won it last year by defeating long-reigning world champion Gary Russell Jr., to win the title. Magsayo would not have a long reign himself as he played hot potato with the belt, immediately losing to Rey Vargas last summer. The reason for the confusing mess of a vacant interim title is that Rey Vargas, the WBC featherweight world champion, moved up in weight to fight for the WBC super featherweight title, but lost to O’Shaquie Foster, yet he didn’t vacant the WBC featherweight title.
“I guarantee this is going to be a great fight. We’re both prepared, so let’s see what happens on Saturday night. The winner of this fight is definitely the fans,” said Magsayo. “Fans can expect that this is going to be a real fight. Neither of us are backing down. We’re coming forward. I know that he fights from different stances, but we’re prepared for it. We’ve been working hard since October for this.”