Danny O’Connor KO’d by dehydration night before Jose Ramirez fight
Danny O’Connor waited 10 years for a title shot. Unfortunately, he blew his chance before setting foot inside the ring. It’s likely his last title hope.
Danny O’Connor was an amateur standout 10 years ago. His professional career didn’t follow the overwhelmingly successful path of his amateur days, but he finally secured a title fight against WBC super lightweight champion Jose Ramirez. The fight was supposed to go down on Saturday, July 7, but it’s all off.
The Fresno Bee reported that the fight was canceled after “the fight doctor ruled he [O’Connor] was in no condition to fight Saturday.”
It turns out that O’Connor couldn’t make the super lightweight limit of 140 pounds. He suffered from severe dehydration while cutting weight and had to be taken to the hospital.
The Fresno Bee also reported that Bob Arum had to deliver the news to fight fans who attended the weigh-in. “‘Look, this happens, the kid was trying,” Arum said after the crowd at the weigh-in reacted with boos.
O’Connor waited for this opportunity for a long time, but he allowed it to slip away. Weight cuts in combat sports can be a brutal undertaking, but it’s up to the fighter to know their limits. O’Connor is a boxing veteran who shouldn’t have allowed this to happen.
He beat Steve Claggett in March while weighing in at 139 pounds. O’Connor should have known then if the weight cut was too much to handle.
I’m sure that O’Connor is disappointed that this happened. He’s a warrior who loves the sport, but he signed on to take this fight. Missing weight is considered disrespectful in the fight game. O’Connor is not the only one that suffers. The champion, Jose Ramirez, misses an opportunity to stay active, the fans lose out on the fight they paid money to see and Top Rank loses its main event.
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Boxingscene.com reports that the show will go on with Egis Kavaliauskas vs. Juan Carlos Abreu elevated to the main event. There are no winners here. Everyone loses. It’s unfortunate that O’Connor allowed his shot at the title to slip away. It’s likely the only shot he will ever get.