Zanfer Boxing was spared the embarrassment of having to cancel a sold-out show.
It came down to the last possible minute, but Omar Chavez can now proceed with his super middleweight bout against Misael Rodriguez. Chavez (41-8-1, 28 KOs) weighed 185 pounds during a same-day rehydration weight check, one pound under the limit for their scheduled ten-rounder to move forward Saturday evening at Arena Postol in San Luis Postol, Mexico.
The same-day, ten-percent mark was in place after Chavez needed five hours to finally make the 169-pound contracted limit.
Chihuahua’s Rodriguez (14-0, 7 KOs)—a bronze medalist for Mexico during the 2016 Rio Olympics—made 169 on the first try. A late-arriving Chavez was 170.3 pounds during his first trip to the scale. He finally got down to 169 after five hours and two more attempts.
History nearly repeated itself on Saturday. A scheduled 8:00 a.m. weight check was pushed back to 1:00 p.m. to accommodate Chavez, who blew that appointment as well. The second-generation boxer—whose father is Hall of Fame legend Julio Cesar Chavez Sr.—arrived just before a 2:30 p.m. deadline imposed by Rodriguez’s team before they would withdraw from the fight.
That scenario was very much on the table before calmer heads prevailed.
“Despite Chavez missing the weigh in by five hours yesterday and 90 minutes today, Misael will give the fans what they want,” Rick Mirigian, Rodriguez’s manager, told The Ring. “The fight will happen. Zanfer and Fernando Beltran took care of their fighter and promoted a hell of an event and stage for Misael to perform and show why he will be victorious.”
Saturday’s bout will air live on TV Azteca in Mexico and ESPN+ in the U.S., beginning at 8:30 pm. ET.
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.