Rikiishi and Magnesi make weight for WBC Eliminator
Tomorrow in Italy we'll get a WBC Super Featherweight world title eliminator as Japan's Masanori Rikiishi (14-1, 9) [佐藤政法] takes on local fighter Michael Magnesi (23-1, 13) in a really good looking match up.
Today, ahead of their bout, the two men took part in their weigh in for the contest, and both men made the 130lb limit with no issues.
On the scales Rikiishi was well under the limit, at 129.5lbs. He spoke about having the deck stacked against him, explaining Magnesi's wife was promoting the show, the people behind it are Magnesi's team and the ring is smaller than is typical in Japan and that he couldn't rely on getting a decision. It seems clear that he feels he needs to stop Magnesi and keep the fight out of the hands of the judges.
Magnesi was even more the limit than Rikiishi, weighing in at 128.5lbs for the bout. He looked in good shape, and was much thicker set than Rikiishi, though it was clear that he was the much shorter man, and Rikiishi was almost a head taller than the Italian fighter.
Notably Japanese fighters have had a torrid history when fighting in Europe, with only a small number of wins, including wins scored by Naoya Inoue and Toshiaki Nishioka. Whilst it is a case of the best Japanese fighters rarely travelling, with Inoue, Nishioka and Mitsunori Seki being exceptions, there are also cases of Japanese fighters losing controversial decisions in Europe, such as Atsushi Kakutani's 2018 loss to Mirco Martin, something Rikiishi and his team will be aware of coming into this bout.
Today, ahead of their bout, the two men took part in their weigh in for the contest, and both men made the 130lb limit with no issues.
On the scales Rikiishi was well under the limit, at 129.5lbs. He spoke about having the deck stacked against him, explaining Magnesi's wife was promoting the show, the people behind it are Magnesi's team and the ring is smaller than is typical in Japan and that he couldn't rely on getting a decision. It seems clear that he feels he needs to stop Magnesi and keep the fight out of the hands of the judges.
Magnesi was even more the limit than Rikiishi, weighing in at 128.5lbs for the bout. He looked in good shape, and was much thicker set than Rikiishi, though it was clear that he was the much shorter man, and Rikiishi was almost a head taller than the Italian fighter.
Notably Japanese fighters have had a torrid history when fighting in Europe, with only a small number of wins, including wins scored by Naoya Inoue and Toshiaki Nishioka. Whilst it is a case of the best Japanese fighters rarely travelling, with Inoue, Nishioka and Mitsunori Seki being exceptions, there are also cases of Japanese fighters losing controversial decisions in Europe, such as Atsushi Kakutani's 2018 loss to Mirco Martin, something Rikiishi and his team will be aware of coming into this bout.