Anthony Yarde weighed in slightly lighter than Dec Spelman ahead of their domestic showdown at York Hall on Saturday night live on BT Sport 1.
Yarde (19-1, 18 KOs), fighting for the first time since a second round win in Spain in February came in at 12st 11lbs 12oz, inside the agreed 180lbs catchweight, whilst former English Light-Heavyweight titlist Spelman (16-4, 8 KOs) tipped the scales right on the limit of 12st 12lbs for their meeting behind closed doors in Bethnal Green.
Former world title challenger, Yarde pushed Sergey Kovalev to the brink last August before succumbing to an 11th round stoppage in Chelyabinsk in his maiden world title fight and can set up a clash with Commonwealth champion Lyndon Arthur with victory, who he was supposed to face on April 11, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic postponing the bout.
Spelman, who was beaten over 12 rounds by Arthur just six weeks ago has vowed to put in an improved performance and revealed he has seen flaws in his opponent’s game.
“The way we go about it might be a little different,” Spelman told Pro Boxing Fans.
“I’ve got a little bit of a game plan for this, if it works who knows, it might not do it might do.
“We’ve got something we’re going to try. We’ve seen a few chinks in his armour, so I’ll be looking put into practice what we’ve been doing in the gym.”
Former British title challenger Mark Heffron scaled just heavier than Denzel Bentley ahead of their highly-anticipated IBF European Middleweight title showdown.
Heffron (25-1, 19 KOs) came in at 11st 5lbs 9oz, just inside the limit whilst unbeaten Londoner, Bentley (13-0, 11 KOs) hit the scales at 11st 5lbs 9oz ahead of his maiden professional title bow.
The victor will close in on a shot at British champion Liam Williams, who defends his crown against Andrew Robinson on October 10, although he is expected to vacate with the Welshman mandatory challenger to WBO world champion, Demetrius Andrade.
English Welterweight titltist Ekow Essuman (13-0, 5 KOs) weighed in six ounces heavier than Frenchman Cedrick Peynaud at 10st 6lbs 11oz, ahead of their IBF European title bout and the Nottingham man’s first fight since signing with promoter Frank Warren in April.
The pair were set to clash on the undercard of Joe Joyce’s victory over Michael Wallisch on July 25, however the bout was rescheduled after Peynaud (8-7-3, 4 KOs) pulled out on fight week, having sustained an ankle injury.
Elsewhere, unbeaten Lightweight and Yarde’s stablemate, Muhammad Bilal Ali (4-0, 1 KO) weighed in at 9st 8lbs 4oz, ahead of his fifth professional fight against Ed Harrison (1-4), who hit the scales at 9st 5lbs 9oz.
Super-Welterweight Josh Frankham, making his professional debut, weighed in at 11st 8oz whilst his experienced opponent, journeyman Kevin McCauley (15-207-12) coming in at 11st 2lbs.
Unbeaten Featherweight prospect Amin Jahanzeb (7-0, 2 KOs) was left to weigh-in on his own after his opponent, who is still to be confirmed failed to show up, tipping the scales at 9st 2lbs 4oz, ahead of his eighth fight and Queensberry debut.
