By Jake Donovan

Nearly 15 months after showing up heavy for his lone career title fight, Eduardo Ramirez made the most of the second chance—and the two additional hours—provided on Friday.

The 26-year old southpaw from Mexico managed to squeeze down just below the 126 pound featherweight limit on his second try. Ramirez (21-1-3, 8KOs) officially checked in at 125.8 pounds for Saturday’s showdown versus Panama’s Bryan De Gracia, who weighed 124.75—well under the limit—on his first try.

Ramirez initially weighed 127 pounds, at which point the New York State Athletic Commission (NYSAC) granted the standard two extra hours to meet the contracted weight. 

Their WBA title eliminator—which is being advertised as a WBA “Gold” featherweight title fight—opens up a televised Showtime tripleheader airing live from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Headlining the show, Brian Castaño (15-0, 11KOs) makes the third defense of his WBA secondary super welterweight title versus former long-reigning beltholder Erislandy Lara (25-3-2, 14KOs). Also featured, heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz (30-1-0-2NC, 26KOs) faces Germany’s Christian Hammer (24-5, 13KOs) in a 10-round contest.

Concerns over the opening leg of the tripleheader arose as early as Friday morning, when Ramirez reportedly skipped the Showtime fighter meetings to instead use the time to attempt to shed off the last few extra pounds.

He was already stripped down to his birthday suit and covered by a TGB Promotions banner (the co-promoter for Saturday’s show) before even stepping onto the scale, which revealed his coming in one full pound over the contracted limit. Despite coming in heavy, he at least gave himself a fighting chance to come back on the mark unlike his previous scale fail.

Ramirez showed up at a beefy 128.75 pounds for his Dec. ’17 battle with then-featherweight titlist Lee Selby. The bout was downgraded to a non-title affair, eventually proving moot as Ramirez dropped a 12-round decision for his lone career loss.

Just one fight has followed, a 1st round knockout in a confidence restorer last November in his hometown of Los Mochis, Mexico.

De Gracia (24-1-1, 20KO) enters the fight riding a four-fight win streak, all by knockout. Saturday’s title eliminator also serves as his first career fight outside of Panama.

The winner will be named mandatory contender to China’s Xu Can, who earned a secondary version of the WBA featherweight title following a spirited 12-round win over exiting titlist Jesus Rojas this past January.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox