By Steve Kim
Randy Caballero, who lost his IBF bantamweight title on the scales on the eve of his November 21st defense against Lee Haskins, has his next fight scheduled to begin his 2016 campaign.
"He is coming back February 5th at the Fantasy Springs," said Robert Diaz, matchmaker for Golden Boy Promotions, who mentioned that the co-headliner on this night will be welterweight, Frankie Gomez.
"Obviously, it devastated him and he's still down but you've got to leave that behind you."
Caballero-Haskins was to be a part of the Miguel Cotto-Saul Alvarez undercard at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The inability to make the 118 pound weight limit mystifies everyone around Caballero, who had weighed himself at 119 pounds the night before the weigh-in. With the fight being scratched, Haskins was then named the IBF titlist.
So is a move up to junior featherweight inevitable?
"I don't know, I suggested we fight at '22 this next fight but I don't think it's an issue of weight because he wouldn't have made 119 so easily," states Diaz, who says he witnessed Caballero weighing himself the night before.
"We're talking about a one pound difference. At 119 Thursday night, he wasn't hurting, he wasn't suffering, he was fine, ready to go to bed and wake up at 118."
Caballero won the title last October over Stuart Hall in a tough twelve round contest but was unable to make a single title defense of his crown. He had a title defense in late February scrapped because of an ankle injury and the Haskins debacle. The 25-year old from Coachella, California has a record of 22-0 (13 KO's)
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com.
