‘Future world champion’ Khalil Coe misses weight by 7 pounds but the fight goes on

Kerr Ferguson

‘Future world champion’ Khalil Coe misses weight by 7 pounds but the fight goes on
Image credit: Matchroom

Khalil Coe weighed in at a staggering 182.8lbs ahead of his grudge match against Jesse Hart this weekend, who came in comfortably at 174.6lbs for the scheduled light-heavyweight contest.

The pair will face off on the undercard of Raymond Muratalla vs Andy Cruz for the former’s IBF Lightweight World title, a Matchroom show from the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, broadcast on DAZN. The fight had been rescheduled from October 11 last year following a hand injury on Coe’s part.

New Jersey’s Coe, who has come in over in the past but not by this ridiculous margin, will forfeit 30% of his purse to Hart and is no longer eligible to win the WBC USA title. It’s a major hit to his reputation after being pushed by promoter Eddie Hearn as a world champion in waiting, and leaves questions on his overall dedication and, in particular, this training camp.

Speaking to FightHype after the weigh-in, Hart was understandably animated when explaining why he ‘begged’ for the fight to still go ahead.

“83. I came in at 74 … We found out today at the weigh ins. He knew about this 12 weeks. He did a 12 week training camp out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He did not want to fight. He don’t want to fight me. First his hand, now his weight.

“And I’m still pushing. I begged the commissioner to still let him fight me because I know he ain’t got this [heart]. They didn’t want to fight. The commissioner tried to say he’s too much over … He’s eight pounds over the contracted weight. I begged the commission – ‘please, do not let him get out of this, on the simple fact that my daughter called me last night when he pushed me on stage.’ He got to pay. It’s no reason why you shouldn’t be a professional and handle the contracted weight. 12 weeks? … I know when a man don’t wanna fight. I smell fear.”

Though the numbers on the scales have put more eyes on the rivalry, many will feel safety should have been considered first and foremost and the bout pulled from the card.

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