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Windy City Weigh-In
Castillejo
Fails to Make Weight on First Attempt
By
Mark Dodge
FightBeat Staff Writer
It was a crowded afternoon on
Chicago’s North Avenue Beach as tens of thousands skipped out of work early and
began gathering for the city’s annual Air and Water Show on Lake Michigan.
 Scattered
among a collection of bodybuilders doing handstands, the hundreds of nearly nude
young women sunning themselves, and an overheated Harold Lederman was the
weigh-in for Saturday night’s HBO doubleheader: featuring Fernando Vargas
vs. Javier Castillejo and Rocky Juarez vs. Humberto Soto
for the WBC’s “interim” featherweight title.
But
the big story of the afternoon involved, of all people, Castillejo.
 The former WBC super
welterweight champ – who’s been nearly invisible throughout the promotion –
failed to make weight in his first attempt, coming in slightly over 155 lbs.
Javier and his team seemed upset by the news, as was Main Events. However,
after sitting down next to a sand dune and thinking it over, the Spaniard went
for a run in the stifling heat, coming back roughly 45 minutes later just under
the 154-pound limit.
  Vargas, who made 154 right on the button, spent the
majority of the hour-long event behind a curtain on the makeshift stage, where a
ring was set up for publicity photos. Covered in a robe and hood most of the
time, Fernando appeared a little gaunt. But he told everyone
around that he’d dropped weight the right way and felt stronger than ever.
 One
person who didn’t bother sticking
was Juarez, who made weight easily and quickly left. On
the other hand, Soto, his opponent Saturday, seemed thrilled to be in town and
was very appreciative when he was presented with a free Fightbeat T-shirt,
courtesy of site owners Carlos Guzman and Jake Donovan.
 Also milling around was heavyweight contender Calvin
Brock, who said he was in town to talk with Main Events about his next fight.
Brock said now that his proposed match with Vitali
Klitschko is officially
off, he hopes to secure a fight on the undercard of Klitschko’s upcoming
bout with Hasim Rahman. As of today, he says, no opponent has been
mentioned.
Saturday’s nine-bout card –
promoted by Main Events, 8-Count Productions, Miller Lite and HBO Sports –
begins at 6 p.m. at the Allstate Arena. Tickets are available at the box
office.
Here’s the final bout sheet
and the fighters’ official weights:
MAIN EVENT: Junior
Middleweights – 10 Rounds
Fernando Vargas (25-2, 22 KO)
154 lbs.
vs. Javier Castillejo (58-5, 39KO) 154 lbs. (2nd attempt; 155 on 1st
try)
WBC Interim Featherweight
Championship – 12 Rds
Rocky Juarez
(23-0, 16KO) 126 lbs.
vs. Humberto Soto (36-5-2, 21 KO) 126 lbs.
Welterweights – 8 Rounds
Joel Julio (23-0,
20 KO) 151 lbs.
vs. Chris Henry (19-11, 14 KO) 151 lbs.
 Heavyweights – 6
rds.
B.J. Flores 12-0-1 (8 KO) 210 lbs.
vs. Nate Zeikle (12-5, 7 KO) 207 lbs.
Junior Welterweights – 6 rds.
Daniel Cervantes
(7-0) 139 lbs. vs. Nelson Romine, Jr. (4-1) 139 lbs.
Lightweights – 6 Rounds
David Diaz (27-1,
15 KO) 137 lbs.
vs. John Trigg (12-28-5, 3KO) 139 lbs.
Light Heavyweights – 6 Rounds
David Pareja (5-1,
1 KO) 174 lbs.
vs. Gregory Holmes (2-3, 1 KO) 173 lbs.
 Cruiserweights
– 4 Rounds
Kendall Gill 1-0 198 lbs.
vs.
Jason Medina (0-1) 188 lbs.
Welterweights -- 6 Rounds
Henry Crawford
(7-0, 2 KO) 147 ¾ lbs.
vs.
Gilbert Venegas (8-1, 5 KO) 148 lbs.
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