Sergio Mora weighs in over limit, fined 20% of purse for fight against Shane Mosley
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Sergio Mora weighed in Friday three pounds over the junior-middleweight limit for his Saturday night main event versus Shane Mosley, drawing a $57,000 penalty, according to the head of the California State Athletic Commission.
Mora, weighing in across the street from the site of Saturday’s pay-per-view bout at Staples Center, came in at 157 pounds while Pomona’s Shane Mosley weighed the junior-middleweight limit 154.
The penalty money goes to Mosley, said the fighter’s attorney, Judd Burstein, who said Mora will attempt to get to 154 pounds tonight or risk ‘an additional financial situation or the placement of a weight limit on him (Saturday) night,’ Burstein said. Burstein assured ‘the fight is definitely on and going forward.’
Mora came back to the scale after 4 p.m. and weighed in at 153.6 pounds, so Mosley’s attorney said they will not request additional compensation, and will not force Mora to weigh in at a certain number Saturday night.
Mosley, 39, was irritated by Mora’s weight, which came days after the former junior-middleweight world champion from Downey told The Times, ‘I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been.’
‘Shane thinks a fighter has an obligation to make a weight,’ Burstein said. ‘He’s a middleweight already. He shouldn’t be able to do this.’
Mora was to earn $285,000 for the bout, according to state athletic commission executive officer George Dodd, and by being three pounds overweight, he was barred from having to weigh in a second time. Dodd said the commission doesn’t allow a fighter to re-weigh in if he’s more than two pounds over the weight limit.
The penalty for being overweight is 20% of a fighter’s purse, said Dodd.
‘They’re going to make him lose the weight,’ Dodd said. ‘From our perspective, there’s a 20% penalty and there’s going to be a fight.’
Mora was visibly flustered by the weight, with members of his camp pointing at the scale. State officials didn’t have him weigh in again after Mosley came in at 154. Mora, dressed only in underwear, put on his socks and other clothing and left the stage.
‘Total misunderstanding, that unfortunately, will cost me big!’ Mora messaged later in the evening. ‘I weighed myself on 2 hotel scales and I was 153 on both. Went to official scale and 157! But I had eaten breakfast and was definitely not dehydrated and in 30 minutes, as you all saw, I came back at ‘their official’ 154 pounds. Destined to happen! Destiny isn’t always pretty. But it is true . . . and it’s what needed to happen.’
--Lance Pugmire
