Weigh-in no sweat for Donaire, Walters

CARSON, California – Nonito Donaire Jr. and Nicholas Walters had no trouble making weight on a bright, sunny day at the StubHub Center here.

The official weigh-in for Saturday’s world title fight took place in an outdoor venue. Jaded ring announcer Michael Buffer provided the golden voice.

Donaire was called in at exactly 1 p.m. Then Walters followed.

One after the other, they tipped the scales, the size of an ordinary bathroom scale, at 125.6, just a little under the featherweight limit of 126.

Then they posed for photographers and TV crews. They stood side by side then face to face. After a brief staredown, they shook hands and tapped each other on the shoulder.

In less than five minutes, the procedure was over.

Donaire and Walters went separate ways. The undefeated Jamaican boarded a white service van; Donaire a black, high-end SUV.

On Saturday (Sunday in Manila), they return to the StubHub Center to face each other for the WBA featherweight crown and the bragging rights.

From the weigh-in, Donaire headed for late lunch with his wife, Rachel, and members of the team. They went to the nearby Olive Garden for some fine Italian cuisine.

By mid-afternoon, Donaire was back at his hotel, the Marriott Hotel in Manhattan Beach.

Later on, Rachel said that for dinner, the four-division champion from the Philippines was having fillet mignon.

For the main event, Gennevy Golovkin of Kazakhstan, the WBA and IBO middleweight champion, will face Marco Antonio Rubio of Mexico, now the former WBC Interim middleweight champion.

Golovkin made it at 159 pounds but Rubio went over the limit at 161.8, and decided not to go for a second weigh-in even if he had two hours to make 160 limit.

The fight will push through but even before he headed back to his hotel, Rubio was already stripped of his title and $100,000 taken off his purse.

Rubio lost on the eve of the fight.