At todays’s weigh in for the big rematch between Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito, WBA Lightweight champion Brandon Rios was about a pound and a half over the mandated 135 pound limit and was forced to relinquish his belt. His opponent John Murray can beome champion with a victory over Rios on Saturday night’s mega card at Madison square Garden.
According to espn.com, Murray’s team threatened to call off the fight, but eventually extracted concessions from Rios. He will pay Murray $20,000 from his $325,000 purse, a nice increase for Murray, who is due $50,000 plus a piece of British television revenue.
Also, to prevent Rios from blowing up in weight overnight, Murray’s camp insisted that Rios not weigh more than 147 pounds at 9 a.m. ET Saturday. If he is over 147, the fight could be called off.
“I think that may play to my advantage, but I’m just going to concentrate on myself,” Murray said. “I’ll let him worry about himself. I’m just going to stay on my game and do my business. I’m not upset at all. I’m just focused on doing my business (Saturday) night.
“We had already prepared to take him into the deep waters. This is a great opportunity for a guy like me. Fights like this are the fights that I want. I want to be in the center of the ring, hammering away to see who is going to be left standing, him or me.”
“He’s been in a colder climate than he’s used to and that probably hurt him trying to make weight,” Carl Moretti of Top Rank, Rios’ promoter, said of the Southern California fighter. “He’s a big 135-pounder. He just couldn’t get down. The question is what happens Saturday night and in the future? I think it’s too soon to say that he’s done at 135 but he could be. We’ll have to talk about with him and his team, see if maybe he went about making weight the wrong way. But he looked drained, very drained.”
