Ahmed Elbiali and Jean Pascal—along with all other participants—successfully made weight ahead of Friday's light heavyweight crossroads bout, which airs live on FS1 from Hialeah Park Racing & Casino in Hialeah, Florida.
Both boxers came in right at the contractually agreed-upon 178-pound catchweight limit.
Elbiali (16-0, 13KOs) has been regularly showcased since the beginning of adviser Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions series. Most recently, the 27-year old Egypt-born light heavyweight—now based in Miami—scored a 2nd round knockout of Christopher Brooker this past July in Alexandria, Virginia, which also aired live on FS1. Friday's telecat will mark his sixth network appearance, and his debut as a headlining act.
Pascal (31-5-1, 18KOs) is no stranger to the spotlight, having reigned as World light heavyweight champion earlier this decade back when his career has seen better days. The 35-year old from Canada by way of Haiti has just two wins in his past six starts, including a controversial decision over Yunieski Gonzalez in 2015 and a rebuilding win last December. A pair of stoppage losses to Sergey Kovalev suggested the end of his stay among today's relevant light heavyweights, but a strong showing in defeat to unbeaten Eleider Alvarez earlier this year indicated perhaps their is still some air in his proverbial tires.
Their bout tops a televised quadrupleheader which has taken on many changes. Most notable is the late addition of unbeaten heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz (27-0, 23KOs)—from Miami by way of Cuba—who faces West Virginia's Daniel Martz in the evening's chief support. The 38-year old locally based southpaw tipped the scales at a near-career high 242.25 pounds in accepting the fight on less than a week's notice, while the 6'7 1/2" Martz (16-5-1, 13KOs) weighed 261.5 pounds, his heaviest fighting weight since April '13.
Also on the show:
- Bryant Perrella (14-1, 13KOs, 146.8 pounds) and Alex Martin (13-2, 5KOs, 146.4 pounds) square off in a 10-round battle of rebounding welterweights
- Stephan Fulton (11-0, 5KOs, 123 pounds) and Adam Lopez (8-0, 3KOs), 123 pounds) meet in an eight-round clash of unbeaten featherweights in the televised opener.
FULL WEIGHTS
AHMED ELBIALI Miami, FL 16-0 (13 KOs) 178 lbs. vs. JEAN PASCAL Quebec, CAN 31-5-1 (18 KOs) 178 lbs.
LUIS ORTIZ Camaguey, CUB 27-0 (23 KOs) 242.4 lbs. vs. DANIEL MARTZ Clarksburg, WV 16-5-1 (13 KOs) 261.6 lbs.
BRYANT PERRELLA Fort Myers, FL 14-1 (13 KOs) 146.8 lbs. vs. ALEX MARTIN Chicago, IL 13-2 (5 KOs) 146.4 lbs.
STEPHAN FULTON Philadelphia, PA 11-0 (5 KOs) 123 lbs. vs. ADAM LOPEZ Glendale, CA 8-0 (3 KOs) 123 lbs.
WILLE JONES Tampa, FL 5-0 (2 KOs) 144.8 lbs. vs. LIVAN NAVARRO Havana, CUB 6-0 (4 KOs) 146.4 lbs.
RAYNELL WILLIAMS Cleveland, OH 12-0 (6 KOs) 134 lbs. vs. JOSHUA ZUNIGA Torrance, CA 8-0 (3 KOs) 135.8 lbs.
HAROLD CALDERON Miami, FL 13-0 (8 KOs) 147 lbs. vs. ARIEL A VASQUEZ Managua, NIC 12-21-2 (9 KOs) 145.6 lbs.
EDUARDO PEREZ DIAZ Havana, CUB 4-0 (4 KOs) 153.4 lbs. vs. NOE LOZANO Fort Pierce, FL 2-1 151 lbs.
SEMAJAY THOMAS Chicago, IL 7-1 (4 KOs) 144.8 lbs. vs. CHARLES MULINDWA Kampala, UGA 12-5-1 (5 KOs) 142.6
IVAN DYCHKO Rudny, KAZ 2-0 (2 KOs) 245.4 lbs. vs. CARLOS SANDOVAL Douglas, AZ 10-14-1 253 lbs.