WBA super middleweight crown won’t be on the line.
Unbeaten Andre Ward will retain his World Boxing Association super middleweight crown no matter how he fares in a title fight Saturday after unbeaten challenger Edwin Rodriguez failed to make weight.
Ward, a 29-year-old American, will keep the title with a victory or loss after Rodriguez tipped the scales at 170 pounds, two pounds over the weight division limit.
That ended the Dominican’s first world title chance before it even began.
Ward, who weighed in at 167.8 pounds, enters the fight 26-0 with 14 knockouts with Rodriguez 24-0 with 16 knockouts.
As punishment for weighing too much, Rodriguez surrenders $100,000 to Ward, boosting his total take from the bout to $2 million, and will forfeit $100,000 to California’s boxing commission, leaving him with $800,000 from the bout at Ontario, California.
The fight will be the first for Ward in 14 months, the longest break of his career after right shoulder surgery in January, and the third bout of the year for Rodriguez.
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