Moments ago at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, the participants for Saturday?s HBO Boxing After Dark doubleheader all weighed in. The attractive twin bill is highlighted by Marcos Maidana?s defense of his interim WBA Jr. Welterweight belt against undefeated Dominican Victory Cayo. The chief undercard is a rematch between Ali ?Rush Hour? Funeka and former champion Joan Guzman.
Maidana and Cayo both looked extremely ripped and ready, weighing in at 140 pounds on the nose. The two men were sure to shake hands but during Wednesday?s open media workout Cayo spoke of his opponent somewhat dismissively. Maidana introduced himself to American audiences with an explosive 6th round stoppage over hot prospect Victor Ortiz and is looking to make another statement.
Moments later Funeka and Guzman approached the dais and got ready to weigh in for their heavily anticipated rematch. Last November Funeka appeared to do enough to capture a clear decision against his Dominican foe in Quebec, Canada, but was thwarted by two judges who called the bout even, resulting in a majority draw. Funeka had a look of disbelief on his face when the scores were announced but insists that his mind is fully focused for their second encounter.
Funeka took the scales first and weighed exactly at 135 pounds, appearing to be extremely cut and prepared. Moments later Guzman took to the scales, with nothing but a towel covering his body. Guzman had a devilish look on his face and was chuckling somewhat. He would be the only one in the building in a laughing mood, however, when it was announced that he had come in at 144 pounds, nine over the scheduled Lightweight limit. If the Funeka-Guzman rematch does still go through the title will only be on the line for Funeka.
Hopefully Guzman?s antics won?t take away from what should be a solid doubleheader. The Joint at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas will play host to the festivities and the HBO telecast kicks off at 10:30 PM/ET.
