Handicappers have predicted that much more will separate Terence Crawford and Amir Khan on Saturday night than Friday afternoon.
Crawford and Khan were almost exactly the same weight when they stepped on the New York State Athletic Commission’s scale Friday afternoon at Madison Square Garden in New York. The 31-year-old Crawford weighed 146.4 pounds, slightly less than the 32-year-old Khan (146.6) for their ESPN Pay-Per-View main event Saturday night at The Garden.
Crawford (34-0, 25 KOs), of Omaha, Nebraska, is consistently listed as a 16-1 favorite over Khan (33-4, 20 KOs), of Bolton, England. Crawford – a three-division champion commonly considered at least one of the top two boxers, pound-for-pound, in the sport – will attempt to make the second defense of his WBO welterweight title in their 12-round, 147-pound championship match.
Prior to Crawford and Khan making weight, Teofimo Lopez and Edis Tatli met their contractual obligations on the NYSAC’s scale.
The 21-year-old Lopez (12-0, 10 KOs), a Las Vegas resident raised in Brooklyn, weighed in precisely at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for their 12-rounder. The 31-year-old Tatli (31-2, 10 KOs), a Kosovo native who resides in Helsinki, Finland, officially came in at 134½ pounds.
Before Lopez and Tatli made weight, Shakur Stevenson and Christopher Diaz each came in under the featherweight limit of 126 pounds for their 10-round bout.
Stevenson, a 21-year-old Olympic silver medalist from Newark, New Jersey, officially weighed in at 125½ pounds. The 24-year-old Diaz (24-1, 16 KOs), of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, stepped on the scale two ounces lighter than Stevenson (125.6 pounds).
The most difficult fight of Stevenson’s two-year pro career will be the second of four fights ESPN Pay-Per-View will air.
Earlier Friday afternoon, Felix Verdejo and Bryan Vasquez made weight for their 10-round lightweight bout.
The 25-year-old Verdejo (24-1, 16 KOs), of San Juan, Puerto Rico, weighed in at 135 pounds, exactly the lightweight limit. The 31-year-old Vasquez (37-3, 20 KOs), of San Jose, Costa Rica, weighed 135¼ pounds, slightly above the division’s limit.
The Verdejo-Vasquez bout will open the ESPN Pay-Per-View show at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT ($69.95 in HD).
