Earlier today in Los Angeles, California, WBC light heavyweight champion Bernard Hopkins and his challenger, former champion Chad Dawson, both made weight comfortably ahead of their bout tomorrow night at the Staples Center. Hopkins weighed in well under the 175-pound limit, coming in at 173.4 pounds, while Dawson came in at 174.2.
Before the weigh-in got going, there were several boxing luminaries at the scene, including HBO?s unofficial ringside judge Harold Lederman, Kassim ?The Dream? Ouma, former champion Jean Pascal, Rashad Holloway, Robert Guerrero, promoter Oscar De La Hoya and others.
<--- Slideshow: Behind the scenes at the Hopkins-Dawson weigh in, including all the trash talk, and cameos by Harold Lederman, Jean Pascal, The Tecate Girls, Oscar De La Hoya, Elie Seckbach, Rashad Holloway and others
The undercard is chalked full of talent, including a junior welterweight clash between former champion Kendall Holt, who weighed in at 139.4 pounds, and undefeated prospect-turned-contender Danny Garcia, who also came in at 139.4. After each man weighed in, they could be found getting up in each other?s face and jawing back and forth at one another.
Advertisement
There is also a pretty good matchup one division south when former two-division champion Jorge Linares meets up with former title challenger Antonio DeMarco for the vacant WBC lightweight crown. Linares was in superb shape, having trained alongside Manny Pacquiao both in the Philippines and at the nearby Wild Card Boxing Club, and came in at 134.6 while DeMarco registered at 134.4.
Other notable names in the mix include the always colorful Paulie Malignaggi, who weighed in at 147.4 for his welterweight bout with once-beaten Orlando Lara, as well as debuting cruiserweight Dewey Bozella, who made headlines after being released from prison after serving 26 years for a crime he did not commit. Bozella seems to be a fan favorite because of his story and positive attitude and he came in weighing 190.6 pounds.
