Mexican fighter Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. tipped the scales at 172.4 pounds for his fight against Bryan Vera in Carson, California after paying his opponent to move the weight limit to 173 from 168 pounds and failing to make the 163 pound weight limit agreed upon during the summer.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Chavez' return bout was originally set at 163 pounds. But the weight limit was increased to 168 pounds after Chavez was cut in training. A week before the fight, Chavez' camp negotiated with the opponent to move the limit to 173 pounds. To sweeten the deal, Chavez paid an undisclosed amount to his opponent.
"I feel very strong right now," Chavez was quoted as saying. "I made some sacrifices during the week [and] I lost about five pounds."
The son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, lost the WBC middleweight championship to Sergio Martinez last year. He was then suspended for having been tested positive for marijuana.
Chavez also denied rumors that he did not put effort in losing weight which led to the increase of the weight limit from 163 to 173 pounds. "I did train hard to be ready, but remember, I have not fought in a year. I will do the best I can on Saturday night," he added.
His manager, Billy Keane, said his ward did not intend to miss weight but conceded that he is just getting bigger these days. He added that Chavez may no longer get a shot at the middleweight title because of his weight issues. "Yes, he struggles with his weight. We have to re-examine what division he will be in the future," Keane said.
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