Sports News of Friday, 28 June 2019

Source: badlefthook.com

Ray Beltran misses weight, ineligible to win IBF title against Richard Commey

Commey will battle Beltran tomorrow Commey will battle Beltran tomorrow

Win or lose, Ray Beltran won’t be leaving Temecula with the IBF lightweight belt tomorrow evening. The 20-year veteran weighed in at 136.8 pounds for his fight with Richard Commey and is thus ineligible to claim Commey’s title. He also surrenders 20% of his fight purse, 10% to the commission and 10% to the champion.

Both fighters still have a morning weigh-in to deal with ahead of fight night; Commey (28-2, 25 KO) cannot weigh above 145 pounds, while Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KO) cannot exceed 146.8.

This isn’t the first time Beltran has lost to the scale ahead of a major fight. He came in half a pound heavy for what should have been a vacant title bout against Takahiro Ao in 2015. He wound up failing a drug test after knocking Ao out in two, so it ultimately didn’t matter, but still.

Beltran successfully debuted at 140 in February with a knockout of Hiroki Okada, and according to his manager, that’s where they intend to campaign after this fight. At 38 years old, the cut isn’t getting any easier.