Andres Gutierrez’s inability to make weight was a stroke of luck for Adam Lopez.
Gutierrez missed weight Friday by a head-scratching 11 pounds for his 10-round junior lightweight fight against Mexican-born star Oscar Valdez on Saturday in Las Vegas on ESPN+.
Thus, Gutierrez was out and a sub was needed. In stepped Lopez, who had been scheduled to face Luis Coria in a featherweight bout on the undercard.
Valdez made the 130-pound limit, weighing 129.8 pounds. Lopez weighed the featherweight limit of 126.
“I trained hard for three months making the sacrifices, and I am very upset with Andres Gutierrez,” Valdez told BoxingScene.com. “He was unprofessional. As soon as I heard 141 pounds, I still wanted to fight him, but my team and (promoter) Bob Arum said Gutierrez was out. I give credit to Adam Lopez for stepping up. It will be a great fight tomorrow night.”
Said Lopez: “It was surreal when I got the offer to fight Oscar. I‘ve known Oscar for a long time and I‘ve wanted this fight for a long time. I’m ready for it. Deep down, I’ll take anyone. Ultimately, I left it up to my trainer (Buddy McGirt), and he gave the fight his blessing.”
Valdez (26-0, 20 knockouts) is making his debut as a full-fledged junior lightweight. He won his featherweight title in 2016 and successfully defended six times.
Lopez (13-1, 6 KOs) is a 23-year-old from Glendale, California. He has fought in only one scheduled 10-round fight, which ended by seventh-round KO over Jean Carlos Rivera in his last fight.
Also, Carl Frampton (26-2, 15 KOs) and Tyler McCreary (16-0-1, 7 KOs) made weight for their scheduled 10-round junior lightweight bout. Frampton weighed 128, McCreary 127.5.
And, in a bout for an “interim” junior middleweight title, Carlos Adames (18-0, 14 KOs) and Patrick Teixeira (30-1, 22 KOs) made weight. Adames weighed 153.5, Teixeira 153.25.