Weights From Las Vegas: Stiverne 239 Lb, Wilder 219 Lb

Jan 16, 2015 • 5:36 AM ET

By Jake Donovan

Bermane Stiverne and Deontay Wilder are locked and loaded for their heavyweight title fight, which takes place Saturday evening at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The bout serves as the main event of a televised-tripleheader, which airs live on SHOWTIME.

Stiverne (24-1-1, 21KOs) tipped the scales at 239 lb. for his first title defense. Wilder (32-0, 32KOs) came in at a shredded 219 lb. for his first crack at a major title.

Stiverne made boxing history in his last fight, becoming the first ever Haiti-born fighter to win a heavyweight title. The feat came courtesy of a 6th round knockout of Chris Arreola in their rematch last May, picking up a vacant heavyweight belt.

Saturday night marks his first defense, and also first appearance on Showtime Championship Boxing. His lone network appearance came in March '07 on a ShoBox telecast that also featured Devon Alexander, with both undefeated at the time and appearing in separate bouts.

Wilder (32-0, 32KOs) aims to become the first American to bring home a heavyweight belt in nearly eight years. Shannon Briggs was the last U.S.-born fighter to claim divisional hardware, with his one-and-done second title reign ending in June ’07.

In addition to that piece of trivia, Wilder also serves as the last American male boxer to win an Olympic medal. The fighting pride of football-crazed Tuscaloosa, Alabama claimed the bronze medal to spare the 2008 U.S. squad the embarrassment of being shut out in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The same could not be said of the 2012 U.S. Olympic team, who came up empty in London.

SHOWTIME regular Leo Santa Cruz makes the fourth defense of his super bantamweight belt as he takes on fringe contender Jesus Ruiz in the evening's co-feature attraction.

Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16KOs) tipped the scales at 121.5 lb. for the bout, his 10th straight affiliated with Showtime and CBS. Ruiz (33-5-5, 22KOs) weighed 122 lb. for his first title fight.

The love affair between Santa Cruz and CBS Corporation dates back to June '12. His 12-round points win over Vusi Malinga resulted in his winning a vacant bantamweight title. His reign lasted until year's end, making two defenses before moving up to the super bantamweight divison in 2013.

In the opening bout of the SHOWTIME telecast, unbeaten super lightweight prospect takes on Fidel Maldonando in a scheduled 10-round bout.

Imam (15-0, 13KOs) weighed in at the divisional limit of 140 lb. Maldonado Jr. was slightly lighter at 139 lb.

WEIGHTS

Bermane Stiverne (24-1-1, 21KOs), 239 lb. vs. Deontay Wilder (32-0, 32KOs), 219 lb.

12 rounds, for Stiverne's heavyweight title

Leo Santa Cruz (28-0-1, 16KOs), 121.5 lb. vs. Jesus Ruiz (33-5-5, 22KOs), 122 lb.

12 rounds, for Santa Cruz' super bantamweight title

Amir Imam (15-0, 13KOs), 140 lb. vs. Fidel Maldonado Jr (19-2, 16KOs), 139 lb.

10 rds, super lightweight

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox

Jake Donovan Profile

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home.