Ray Beltran misses weight, ineligible to win IBF title against Richard Commey

Win or lose, Ray Beltran won’t be leaving Temecula with the IBF lightweight belt tomorrow evening. The 20-year veteran weighed in at 136.8 pounds for his fight with Richard Commey and is thus ineligible to claim Commey’s title. He also surrenders 20% of his fight purse, 10% to the commission and 10% to the champion.

Both fighters still have a morning weigh-in to deal with ahead of fight night; Commey (28-2, 25 KO) cannot weigh above 145 pounds, while Beltran (36-8-1, 22 KO) cannot exceed 146.8.

This isn’t the first time Beltran has lost to the scale ahead of a major fight. He came in half a pound heavy for what should have been a vacant title bout against Takahiro Ao in 2015. He wound up failing a drug test after knocking Ao out in two, so it ultimately didn’t matter, but still.

Beltran successfully debuted at 140 in February with a knockout of Hiroki Okada, and according to his manager, that’s where they intend to campaign after this fight. At 38 years old, the cut isn’t getting any easier.