BOXING Pagara’s fails to make weight in Japan fight

Jason Pagara failed to make weight and won’t be eligible to win the vacant World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia-Pacific junior welterweight crown even if he beats undefeated Japanese Hiroki Okada tonight at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Pagara was two pounds over the 140-pound limit in yester- day’s weigh-in. He tried to shed the excess weight in a sauna but to no avail.

“He was a bit tired but now he’s a okay because he has already eaten and drank water,” Pagara’s coach Edmund Villamor told SunStar Cebu. “That’s what we have to see. He has to recover. If the fight will go the distance, I think his performance will be affected.”

In Pagara’s last fight, he had to trim a huge amount of weight after a layoff of close to a year. The weight cut took its toll on him on fight night, as he lost steam in the later rounds and settled for a split draw with last-minute replacement James Oyango.

“If there is a chance to drop him (Okada) then he has to make sure that the Japanese stays down,” said Villamor.

The year has been rough for Pagara. He has been previously rated No. 1 in the WBO junior welterweight division but with his inactivity and after a disappointing fight, he slid to No. 8.

A win over the 28-year-old Okada should be a good opportunity for Pagara to put his name back up in his weight division. Okada is ranked in three major world boxing governing bodies - No. 9 in the WBO, No. 7 in the World Boxing Association (WBA) and No. 11 in the World Boxing Council (WBC). /