The hometown crowd perched in the shade of a tent on the lot of a local car dealership. The chowder-thick humidity probably doesn't get to them anymore. If it did, they didn't show it.
Omar Figueroa Jr. and Ricky Burns pose together one last time before tangling in the ring Saturday.
After all, local hero Omar Figueroa Jr. (24-0-1, 18 KOs) was getting ready to take on Scotsman Ricky Burns (37-4-1, 11 KOs) on Saturday at State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, live on CBS (4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT). And they weren't shy about showing their love when he stepped on the scale.
In his first fight scheduled for 140 pounds, Figueroa came in over at 141.2. Burns got under at 139.2.
“I told him, ‘I apologize. I hate doing this to you. It's not like me,’” Figueroa said. "I am disappointed in myself. I let my fans down, and I hate doing that.”
Figueroa opted not to re-weigh, and the fight weight was adjusted in the contract.
Tomoki Kameda (31-0, 19 KOs) had an entusiastic cheering section in his team—all decked out in matching gold Chuck Taylors—who chanted "To-Mo-Ki!" toward a chagrined Jamie McDonnell (25-2-1, 12 KOs). Kameda came in at 117.8, as did McDonnell, for their 118-pound tilt.
Austin Trout (28-2, 15 KOs) weighed in at 157, while late replacement Luis Galarza (20-3, 14 KOs)—fighting after Anthony Mundine withdrew due to a perforated eardrum—was 155.6.
For full coverage of Figueroa Jr. vs Burns, visit the fight page.
