Easter can't lose crown as Fortuna too heavy

Dominican southpaw Javier Fortuna missed out on his chance to capture the International Boxing Federation lightweight title Friday after weighing in over the 135-pound (61.2kg) limit.

Unbeaten champion Robert Easter Jnr tipped the scales half a pound under the maximum but intended title challenger Fortuna could not make weight in two tries, coming in at 136.4 pounds.

As a result, Fortuna cannot claim the crown with a victory Saturday at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn and US fighter Easter is not at risk of losing the title.

Easter, 26, has made two successful title defenses - unanimous decisions over Luis Cruz last February and Denis Shafikov in June - to stand 20-0 with 14 knockouts. Fortuna is 33-1-1 with 23 knockouts.

The fight tops the undercard for Saturday's all-American main event pitting unbeaten IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence against former world champion Lamont Peterson.

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