Carl Frampton is the overwhelming favourite to beat his opponent Andres Gutierrez on Saturday night.
The bout set to go down in Belfast’s SSE Arena was set to be a WBC title eliminator. The spoils of war were set to be a title shot against champion Garry Russel Jr.
That’s still the prize up for grabs for the Mexican, but Frampton has ruled himself out of that opportunity by missing weight on Friday.
The fight will still go ahead, but ‘The Jackal’ weighed in 1lb over the 126lb featherweight limit the contest will no longer be a WBC title eliminator for Frampton, although the status of the bout remains unchanged for his opponent.
Frampton has since issued a statement on Twitter apologising to fans and his opponent for missing weight.
“After a long training camp of intense preparation and trying to make weight, I was disappointed that I came in 1 lb over the featherweight limit today. I tried everything I could to cut down, but unfortunately, my body just wouldn’t allow it in the end.”
“I’d like to apologise to the fans that have got involved and have shown incredible support throughout this frantic fight week, and to those that will be cheering me onto victory on Saturday night. Furthermore, I would like to apologise to my opponent Andres Gutierrez – who will still have the opportunity to win the WBC title eliminater on Saturday.”
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) July 28, 2017
UPDATE: The fight has been cancelled after Gutierrez had an accident the night before the fight.
