Najee Lopez did his job at the scale.
His opponent cannot make the same claim.
Atlanta’s Lopez (12-0, 9 KOs) was a trim and fit 174.4 pounds for his bout with Miami’s Gilbert (Lenin) Castillo, who was well over the light heavyweight mark at a beefy 177.4 pounds.
Their scheduled ten-round contest will air live this Friday from Plant City, Florida.
Castillo (25-6-1, 19 KOs) was one of four fighters on the show who failed to hit their instructed mark. The development was more embarrassing for the 36-year-old Dominican, who fights on this series for the first time.
The former title challenger has lost two of his last three starts, including a ten-round decision to unbeaten Juan Carrillo last Oct. 18 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He remains infamously known for his early knockout defeats to then-unbeaten WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol (16-0 at the time) in 2019 and former WBA super middleweight titlist Callum Smith in 2021.
Lopez, an unbeaten 25-year-old Puerto Rican prospect, won three fights in 2024.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard.
Darrelle Valsaint (11-0, 9 KOs, 1 No Contest) Orlando, Florida, 155.2 pounds vs. Stephen Danyo (23-6-3, 8 KOs), Rotterdam, Netherlands, 155.6 pounds—10 rounds, junior middleweight
Jeremiah Milton (11-0, 7 KOs), Las Vegas, Nevada via Tulsa, Oklahoma, 244.2 pounds vs. Stanley Wright (13-0, 11 KOs), Charlotte, North Carolina, 280.4 pounds—10 rounds heavyweight
Yojanler Martinez (5-0, 2 KOs), Las Vegas, 163* pounds vs. Jonas Sylvain (8-0, 4 KOs), Coconut Creek, Florida, 158 pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
* Martinez was three pounds over the contracted limit
Ariel Perez (5-0, 4 KOs), Seffner, Florida, 177.6* pounds vs. Pachino Hill (8-8-2, 6 KOs), Davenport, Iowa, 174.4 pounds—6 rounds, light heavyweight
* Perez was 2.6 pounds over the contracted limit
Jordan Roach (2-0, 1 KO), Upper Marlboro, Maryland, 114.6 pounds vs. Luis Quiles (2-0-1, 1 KO), Cayey, Puerto Rico, 115 pounds—6 rounds, junior bantamweight
Benjamin Johnson (2-0, 2 KOs), Springdale, Maryland, 149 pounds vs. Gil Garcia (5-8-1, 1 KO), Houston, Texas, 148.2 pounds—6 rounds, welterweight
Geise Reyes Del Verson (3-0, 3 KOs), Sarasota, Florida, 146.8 pounds vs. Nelson Morales (6-19, 3 KOs), Scranton, Pennsylvania, 153.4* pounds—4 rounds, welterweight
* Morales was 6.4 pounds over the contracted limit
Travon Marshall (10-1, 8 KOs), Capitol Heights, Maryland, 155.8 pounds vs. Marcelo Fabian Bzowski (11-29-4, 0 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 160.4* pounds—6 rounds, middleweight
*Bzowski was 0.4 pounds over the contracted limit
David Whitmire (7-0, 5 KOs), Washington, D.C., 150.2 pounds vs. Juan Meza (4-6, 3 KOs), Los Angeles, California, 151.8 pounds—4 rounds, junior middleweight
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.