Junior bantamweight contender Jonathan Rodriguez had been due to face Kosei Tanaka for the WBO 115-pound title on Saturday. However, at the weigh in the day before he tipped the scales at 121.25, meaning he was 6.25-pounds overweight and the fight was correctly soon scratched.

It was hard not to feel sorry for Tanaka who had done his part and made weight, while Rodriguez has become something of a pariah, especially in Japanese circles.

His promoter, Paco Damian, who is a disciple of the late great Hall of Fame promoter Don Chargin, had gone to Japan with high hopes only to leave with his tale between his legs after a particularly difficult few days.

“This situation was very embarrassing,” Damian told The Ring. “Unfortunately since Wednesday Jonathan started cramping, had trouble breathing, and felt pressure in his chest. I had no choice but to hydrate him and try to stay ahead of his symptoms. From that point we couldn’t catch up.

“No excuses on my end. I am the promoter and I assume all the responsibility. No finger-pointing to the fighter or trainer. I love our sport and one thing I can say is: There was never a bad intention on coming heavy.

“When I spoke with Mr Honda about it, I spoke the truth. He is an honorable man with a lot of experience. I would like to believe he knows we never had a bad intention to come overweight or to use it as advantage. We kept trying until last minute to lose every little [bit of] weight we could. We absolutely did our best as a team to make the fight happen. Until medically it was not possible.”

Rodriguez weight 121.6-pounds on the Wednesday of fight week but was unable to shift any additional weight due to the ailments.

試合中止です

相手選手が2.9kgオーバー
再計量も断念して計量失格

相手選手の体調や
試合不成立になった戦いを行う事自体、本来良くない事
色々な事を踏まえて
試合中止という判断です

明日はグローブではなく
マイクを持って
リングで皆さんに顔を見せます
残念なお知らせ誠に申し訳ございません。 pic.twitter.com/Eq3ehi74dy

— 田中恒成/KOsei Tanaka (@KOsei530) July 19, 2024

Prior to that, everything according to Damian, things were going smoothly and just how they had planned.

“Everything was on track,” he said. “I asked them their answer was every thing is going great.”

Once it became obvious to Damian that things were veering off course he attempted to help.

“I made some calls to the USA searching for advice,” he said. “I was concerned and I knew then we were in big trouble. We all had the hope that somehow by controlling the cramps we can keep working safely on losing the extra weight.

Jonathan Rodriguez (left) and his promoter Paco Damian working out in Japan as the fighter tried to shed weight before facing Kosei Tanaka – Photo courtesy of Paco Damian

“Unfortunately every time the cramps will come back all we worked and the weight he lost was in vain because I had to give him some liquids to keep him safe, that brought him right back to the weight he was. We couldn’t catchup.

“On Wednesday, when this happened, I didn’t point the finger at anybody, instead I try to keep everyone calm and deal with the situation. I took over, Every time we worked to lose weight, I pushed Jonathan to the limit responsibly. However, at the time I had a big responsibility and that was his health first.”

The promoter is apologetic about what happened and more than willing to take his medicine.

“This hasn’t sat well with me,” he said. “I have never accepted excuses, excuses are for people that are not willing to assume responsibility.

“Other athletes from different countries made weight just fine. The damage we have caused is unrepairable. As the lead person of my team I assume all the responsibility to be laid upon me.”

It is of course very early in the process, but the JBC are notoriously tough on offenders. They had a no-nonsense approach to Luis Nery who tested positive for zilpaterol and flagrantly missed weight against Shinsuke Yamanaka, and was given a lifetime ban. That ban was subsequently rescinded to allow Nery to face Ring junior featherweight titleholder Naoya Inoue in May. Each case is different and judged on its own merit.

“I am glad they are tough, as they should be,” he said, falling at their mercy. “I don’t know as of right now what their verdict will be.”

Rodriguez’s short-term future depends on the JBC ruling, though he received some encouraging support from another sanctioning body.

“I had a conversation with [WBC President] Mr. Mauricio Sulaiman while in Japan in regard to this unfortunate situation and he personally offered me his board of doctors and experts to look into what happened to find out what was the cause of this, and also to use this to be as awareness to other athletes. And in what weight category Jonathan will fight in the near future.”

“I have to wait for the JBC decision,” explained Damian. “Then we will proceed accordingly.”

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

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