Only Emmanuel “Manny” Rodriguez (17-0, 12 KOs) will be eligible to win the vacant IBF bantamweight title after opponent Paul Butler failed to make weight today in London. The digital scale showed Butler to be 3.5 pounds heavy during their Friday morning weigh-in. He was granted two hours to shed the excess poundage but refused to be weighed in a second attempt.

“I’m ready to fight Butler with those extra pounds,” said Rodriguez. “I’m not worried, so I accepted it. He’s not a 122-pounder. He’s fought 115 and 118 pounds. I’m not worried that hasn’t worked hard enough to make weight and is this heavy. He relies a lot on his speed and that’s going to decrease a bit with those extra pounds, but I’m not counting on that. I’m just waiting for the best version of Butler. In the end, the title goes to Puerto Rico!”