Cape Town - South African super feathwerweight boxer Malcolm Klassen was left high and dry on Saturday night when he was scheduled to fight for the vacant WBA Intercontinental Championship in Saint-Denis, on Réunion.
Klassen and his entourage, which included Errol Saffy (trainer) and his assistant Stephen Castle, pitched up at the tournament which was staged by Sébastien Acariès of d’Asventure Promotion. Instead of taking his place on the bill, Klassen and his handlers were reduced to spectators.
Castle said that at the pre-fight weigh-in, Klassen’s opponent, Yuriorkis Gamboa, a former Cuban Olympic gold medalist, failed to make the weight limit.
The records show that over the past two years Gamboa had fought in the lightweight division but decided to step down one division to fight Klassen at super featherweight for the vacant title.
“Klassen made the contracted weight at the weigh-in whereas Gamboa was one kilogramme over the limit after a second visit to the scale,” said Castle yesterday.
“The officials at the weigh-in seemed to turn a blind eye to the discrepancy. When I pointed it out I was told a meeting would be held to attend to the matter.
“To my knowledge, a meeting was never held and promoter Acariès ignored my pleas for clarity on the matter.”
Castle said Klassen had accepted the fight on short notice and had worked hard to make the weight limit.
“After the weigh-in, Klassen was dehydrated. We went to the local clinic to get advice," he said
“After we were back at the hotel, anti-doping officials arrived and did a random check. They found vials (glass containers) of Vitamin B and Magnesium. They confiscated it to confirm the validity of the contents.
“Saffy was questioned and so was Klassen. They confirmed Klassen was not guilty of any offence. Saffy is awaiting the result of the test to prove his innocence.
“We were only informed that the fight had been cancelled a half hour before the tournament started by another boxer. The promoter did not bother to inform us. As of now, we have no knowledge of the reason for the cancellation.”