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Lee Purdy comes in overweight for IBF title fight

Purdy comes in overweight for IBF title fight
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Lee Purdy comes in overweight for his IBF welterweight title fight with Devon Alexander and will not be able to win the belt tomorrow night.

British welterweight Lee Purdy has weighed in one pound over the 147 limit for his IBF title fight with Devon Alexander.

As a result, he will not be able to win the world title in tomorrow's showdown at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

The 25-year-old, who took the fight on four weeks' notice after Kell Brook was forced to pull out with a foot injury, tipped the scales at 148 and was given two hours to shed the extra pound.

However, he could only lose two ounces and was forced to give up his shot at glory, although the fight will still go ahead.

Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn said that Purdy worked hard to lose the extra weight, but he was not prepared to risk his health of his fighter by draining his weight any further.

"We came clean and talked to Golden Boy (Alexander's promoter) and agreed to a financial penalty," ESPN quotes Hearn as saying. "Golden Boy was kind enough to give us this opportunity.

"[Purdy] wasn't going to turn the fight down. He trained the best he could. He tried to lose the weight, but I thought enough is enough.

"I wasn't prepared for him to do more. The health of the fighter is paramount."

Tomorrow's card will be headlined by Lamont Peterson's light welterweight bout with interim WBC champion Lucas Matthysse.

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