Frankie Gavin Unable Make Weight, The Fight is Still On

By Terence Dooley

Dean Powell, matchmaker for Frank Warren Promotions, has confirmed that Frankie Gavin will be unable to hit the contracted 10st 4lb weight limit for next Saturday’s fight with Curtis Woodhouse at Liverpool’s ECHO Arena and will instead come in at the 10st 7lb welterweight division limit.

Although the two boxers are vying for the WBO Inter-Continental welterweight crown both had agreed to make 144lb as Woodhouse has largely campaigned down at light-welterweight in recent times.  Although in his last contest, a KO win over Billy Smith in April, the former footballer hit the scales at 151lb.

Gavin has fought in and around the welterweight limit during his last two outings, wins over Michael Lomax and Young Mutley respectively, but has maintained that he intends to come back down to 140lb for future title fights.

‘Funtime’ has had weight issues in the past, he was ejected from the 2008 Olympics due to his inability to safely hit the 60kg limit.  Ironically he was 3lbs out when GB team coach Terry Edwards made the decision to send him back home from the Games.

Frankie, though, blamed the British amateur set-up, stating that they had kept him at too low a weight for too long a time before pointing out that Team GB had refused to allow his nutritionist, Kerry Kayes, to go to China with the youngster in a bid to help him make the weight safely.

The 10-0 (8) southpaw looked to have put the problems behind him as a pro only for this latest turn to raise further questions over his dedication.  Woodhouse, 15-2 (10), today jokingly told his opponent to “put down the cakes” but no doubt sees this as a favorable development should Frankie be struggling to trim those final few lbs.

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