By Keith Idec
Kal Yafai couldn’t believe what David Carmona weighed when he stepped on the California State Athletic Commission’s scale Friday afternoon.
Carmona came in at 118½ pounds for their 115-pound title fight Saturday night, technically two divisions higher than the super flyweight limit.
The Mexican contender, already a huge underdog entering their 12-round championship match in Fresno, California, now cannot win the WBA world super flyweight title from Yafai even if he pulls off a huge upset.
England’s Yafai made weight (114½ pounds), thus his title still will be at stake. Yafai expressed his dismay at Carmona’s disregard for their contracted weight in a Tweet.
“Felt great weighing in today!,” Yafai wrote in a post from his Twitter account. “Absolute joke how he came in so much over the weight! I’m ready to defend my title in style. Thank you all for all the support! #AndStill.”
The Yafai-Carmona match will be streamed live by ESPN+ from Save Mart Center as the opener of a two-fight show set to start at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.
In the 12-round main event, IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (29-1-1, 20 KOs) will defend his title against fellow Filipino Jonas Sultan (14-3, 9 KOs). Ancajas (114½ pounds) and Sultan (114¼) both made weight Friday.
The 28-year-old Yafai (23-0, 14 KOs), a 2008 Olympian, will make the third defense of his WBA world super flyweight championship against Carmona (21-5-5, 9 KOs).
Odds-makers have installed Yafai as a 30-1 favorite. Carmona is 1-3 in his past four fights, including unanimous-decision defeats to former super flyweight champions Naoya Inoue (16-0, 14 KOs) and Carlos Cuadras (36-3-1, 27 KOs).
“It’s now time to establish myself as the top man in the division,” Yafai told Sky Sports earlier this week. “I’m very excited about fighting in the USA. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do. This is an opportunity to showcase myself in front of a huge audience, not only in the UK, but in the USA as well. It’s definitely important to look good.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
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