Fighter comes in ten pounds overweight for Shields undercard fight.
Of all the issues that professional boxers face throughout their careers, for some of them, one is making weight. Apart from heavyweight, of course, every division has a maximum weight limit, and every division has a minimum.
Making weight is more difficult for some boxers than others, and this inevitably leads to a few coming in too heavy, which is usually dealt with rather simply.
It is not uncommon for a boxer to weigh in a quarter of a pound heavier, and it is often sorted out with a fine, a title no longer being on the line, or a second chance to weigh in.
But when a boxer comes in multiple pounds overweight, that is a different story.
Tomorrow night, Claressa Shields will be making her first appearance back at middleweight in three years, set to take on WBC and WBA world champion Kaye Scott. The 42-year-old Australian will be the latest world champion Shields will have faced in her career.
Apart from the main event, the card was set to feature 11 other fights for fans to enjoy, and one of these was going to be a super-lightweight matchup between America’s rising puncher Ernesto Mercado and Ghana’s experienced Emmanuel Tagoe.
Only, the fight has now been cancelled entirely, as Tagoe–in a bout with a contracted weight of 140 pounds–weighed in at 150 pounds, a full ten pounds heavier.
Such gross miscalculations in weight are not seen all that often in the sport, and it is always pretty jarring when it happens. Nevertheless, there is now one less bout on the show for followers of pugilism to watch on Saturday night.
Mercado vs. Tagoe has now been canceled. https://t.co/f7ckYRQdSo
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) August 14, 2026
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