Boxing
Lewis Ritson, Miguel Vazquez make weight for super-lightweight showdown
Both Lewis Ritson and Miguel Vazquez looked ready for battle as they made super-lightweight ahead of their Saturday main event in Peterborough, live on Sky Sports in the U.K. and DAZN in the U.S.
Ritson had hit the scales at 139 1/2 lb, half a pound under the 140 lb limit, on each of his previous three contests at super-lightweight.
After the Vazquez fight was postponed twice due to COVID-19, the Brit weighed in for the bout's third scheduled date at 139 lb and 7 oz, with the Mexican veteran slightly lighter at 139 lb 3 oz.
Both men comfortably made weight for their fight to be for the vacant WBA Intercontinental championship, and victory could very well lead to a world title opportunity in 2021.
The chief support contest, a 10-round final eliminator for the English super-bantamweight title, saw Mark Leach weigh two ounces over the 122 lb limit for his fight with Rio 2016 Olympian Qais Ashfaq.
In order for a potential victory to earn Leach a shot at the championship, he must make the weight but former world middleweight champion Darren Barker was confident the 2 oz would be no problem to shift.
“Usually I could shift a couple of ounces just by going to the toilet!” Barker quipped during the live weigh-in coverage.
(Update: Leach made weight at 121 lb 8 oz.)
Ashfaq, meanwhile, measured up at 121 lb 7 oz, just inside the super-bantam limit.
The always-entertaining Joe Laws took to the scales wearing a professional wrestling Lucha-libre mask and chomping a cigar, with which he received a reading of 146 lb 9 oz to make the welterweight limit for his six-rounder with fellow unbeaten fighter Rylan Charlton, who was well beneath the 147 lb welter ceiling at 144 lb 4 oz.
With Thomas Essomba serving as a late replacement opponent for the undefeated Thomas Patrick Ward, their 10-round super-bantamweight fight had some leeway on the scales, with no titles on the line or immediate opportunities to be earned.
Britain's Ward weighed 123 lb 3 oz while Cameroon's Essomba measured one ounce lighter at 123 lb 2 oz for their 10-round contest.
And in the event's opening contest, pro debutant Ellie Scotney weighed exactly the same as opponent Bec Connolly. The two combatants were at 125 lb 2 oz for their 126 lb bout.
The Ritson vs. Vazquez card will be shown live on Sky Sports in the U.K. and DAZN in the U.S.
