On June 6, 2014, boxers weighed in at Casino Miami Jai-Alai in anticipation of NUVOtv’s Saturday broadcast.
The fighters were professional and focused. There was no pushing or trash-talking, and very little posturing. Floyd Mayweather Sr. even refrained from reciting his poetry.
“Water, Pedialyte, and Gatorade is all you can drink,” shouted Jorge Curtiellas of the Florida Boxing Commission to the crowd of fighters, trainers and corner men. “Once you get to the ring, only water.”
“There’s all these drinks with God-knows-what in them,” Curtiellas said on the side. “Water, Pedialite, and Gatorade. We know what’s in those.”
First on the scale was Charles Whittaker (40-15-2, 24 KOs), the 40-year-old Miami resident. Whittaker weighed in at 158.6lbs. His opponent for Saturday’s 10-round contest, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin (16-3, 10 KOs), weighed in at 165lbs. The contract weight remains unclear.
“Training has been in Las Vegas, but I live in New Jersey” said Douglin, alluding to his weigh-in weight. “Living out of a hotel I’ve been unable to cook, so I’m eating out all the time. I’ve been eating at Hooters and eating take-out.”
“It was 160, then it changed to 165,” said Douglin of the contract weight.
Whittaker disagrees.
“Contract weight is 159lbs and that has never changed, he just came in today way over the contract weight” said Whittaker. “I’m comfortable with my weight though, and I’ll have time to hydrate.”
Douglin is looking to create a brawl.
“I can jab and box on the outside, but I always prefer infighting,” Douglin said of his style. “I like to beat people up. I like to get in close and beat people up.”
Expectedly, Whittaker wants to avoid fighting Douglin’s fight.
“He’s coming in a lot heavier than I am,” Whittaker notes. “I’m not going to wrestle with him, I’m going to box and move.”
If Douglin did indeed fail to make the contract weight, then he will likely surrender a portion of his purse to Whittaker as a penalty.
Next at the scale was Cory Cummings (17-5, 13 KOs) and Azea Augustama (16-1, 9 KOs), both of whom weighed well under the contract weight of 179lbs.
Cummings is older and has more professional experience. However, the American super middleweight is coming off a unanimous decision loss to William Joppy, as well as a three-year absence from the ring. Any ring rust, or absence thereof, will be on display Saturday night.
Augustama has a deep amateur pedigree. A former Olympian, the Haitian-born Florida resident is a former Golden Gloves champion and Pan Am Games competitor.
In the event that either of the co-features end early, as boxing matches often do, NUVOtv will add to the televised card a four-round light-heavyweight bout between Ahmed “The Egyptian” Elbiali and Yuwshau Zadok. Both Zadok and Elbiali made weight without incident.
“Knockout,” a reality series, features young boxers who are trained by world-renowned trainers Floyd Mayweather, Sr., Ruben Guerrero and Yoel Judah.
Tickets are priced at $15, $30, $50 and $75 for VIP, and are available at the Casino Miami Jai Alai box office or by calling 305-633-6400 and online at www.ticketweb.com. The doors open at 6:00 and the broadcast will begin at 7:00.
FOLLOW BILL BARNER ON TWITTER @BarnerBill
Bill Barner is a former certified “USA Boxing” Judge, Referee, and Trainer. He is a former sparring partner for several amateur and professional fighters and currently practices criminal and immigration law in South Florida for BarnerRossen PA. He has appeared in Bleacher Report, VOICE Magazine, Youngstown Vindicator, and is a regular contributor to East Side Boxing. He can be reached at barner@barnerrossen.com or on twitter @BarnerBill.
