No matter what happens on Showtime tomorrow night, Rolando Romero is leaving the ring with the WBA interim lightweight title around his waist. Late replacement Anthony Yigit came in two divisions heavy for their 135-pound co-main event, crushing the scales at 140.2.
That late notice isn’t quite as exonerating as you might think. Per Dan Rafael, Yigit (24-1-1, 8 KO) was already slated to fight at 135 on the untelevised undercard and “was the replacement” in case something happened to Romero (13-0, 11 KO) or “Rolly’s” original foe, Austin Dulay.
Luckily, the fight will go on ahead without any hardware at stake.
The 29-year-old Yigit has never weighed in below 138.5 and hasn’t fought since winning an eight-round decision over Siar Ozgul more than two years ago. Even without the benefit of hindsight, those seem like some pretty obvious red flags.
This marks the second time in a row that Romero’s seen a potential title defense go up in smoke due to weight. Justin Pauldo hit the scales at 138.6 in January, then weighed in a pound heavier at 139.6 on his second attempt, leaving Romero to smash up Avery Sparrow instead.
Jermell Charlo battles Brian Castano for the undisputed super middleweight title in the main event, while Amilcar Vidal opens the show against Immanuwel Aleem.