The now former title holder Randy Caballero came in five and half pounds over the limit at 123.5lbs and was immediately stripped of the red belt. The IBF the acted swiftly to promote Haskins from interim to full champion status without the challenger having to throw a punch in anger.
Caballero’s father and head trainer Marcos told desertsun.com that it was a genuine mistake by his 25 year-old son who had weighed 119lbs in his Mandalay Bay hotel room at a weight check the previous night.
“I was shocked. We’ve been watching his weight every day. We’ve been watching what he eats, drinks, everything. I can’t explain what happened,” he said.
Bristol’s Haskins becomes the UK’s tenth reigning world champion, the second at the 118lb limit alongside WBA belt holder Jamie McDonnell, and the ‘Playboy’ can now look forward to some massive fight domestically and abroad.
In other title news, WBA Vice President Gilberto Mendoza confirmed to WBN that Derry Mathews decided to relinquish his interim WBA lightweight title rather than make a routine defense against Ismael Barroso. The confirmation comes on the back of Matchroom Boxing announcing a clash between Kevin Mitchell and Barroso on December 12 for the same belt.
The move is a shrewd one by Mathews that frees up the Merseyside fighter for a WBO or WBC ranking and the chance to challenge stablemate and WBO champion Terry Flanagan or Jorge Linares in the first half of 2016.
