By Jake Donovan, photos by Suzanne Teresa

Omar Figueroa looks to preserve his unbeaten record while Antonio DeMarco looks to revive his career, as the two collide Saturday evening at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Both fighters made their contracted weight for the 12-round headliner which airs live in primetime on NBC (Saturday 8:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. local time), but raised more questions than answers at Friday's weigh-in at Hyatt Regency in downtown San Antonio. 

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Figueroa - who hails from Weslaco, Texas - tipped the scales at a career-heaviest 151 lbs., a one-time test at the weight. Mexico's DeMarco came in at 149 lbs.

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The official contract weight was 152 lbs., though was apparently negotiated between camps when it was learned that Figueroa was struggling to make weight. News of the change wasn't introduced to anyone beyond immediate circles until late in fight week and unbeknownst to the public until DeMarco weighed in at 149 lbs.


Confusion further set in once Figueroa tipped the scales at 151. It is now the second straight time that the former lightweight champ has failed to comply with the original contracted weight, both fights headlining free-to-air telecasts of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) events. He was 141.5 lbs. for a super lightweight clash with Ricky Burns, winning their May clash by 12-round decision.


DeMarco agreed to this fight upon ending a brief retirement. The former lightweight champ insisted he was done with the game after a 10-round loss to Rances Barthelemy in June, as he felt the need to tend to his cancer-stricken teenage sister.

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The family decided it was in the boxer's best interest to do what he loved, but only if he still believes he has something left to offer the sport. That answer came upon agreeing to face Figueroa, though perhaps not realizing at the time he'd wind up in a super welterweight bout.


Opening the telecast, Chris Arreola faces Travis Kauffman in a heavyweight battled upgraded to 12 rounds.

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Both fighters weighed in at 236.5 lbs. A brief scuffle took place at the final press conference on Thursday with Arreola shoving Kauffman during their staredown.

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The two were on their best behavior on Friday, with Arreola even posing with his hands behind his back following the weigh-in during their second stardown in as many days.

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Arreola has endured a miserable stretch, just 2-2-1 in his last five fights. In his last two, the two-time heavyweight title contender from Riverside, Calif. struggled mightily in a surprisingly competitive and thrilling points win over Curtis Harper and then fought to a disappoting draw with Fred Kassi in July.

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The shaky performance versus Kassi cost Arreola - who once again showed up out of shape - a shot at unbeaten heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder, who went on to face and beat France's Johann Duhaupas in September.


Kauffman - based out of Reading, Penn. - has won 12 straight since suffering the lone loss of his career more than six years ago.


Oddly enough, Arreola was among those IN shape on a card where missing weight and questionable conditioning quickly became the theme.


Terrell Gausha is currently slated to appear on a NBC Sports Network (11:00 p.m. ET) telecast immediately following the primetime portion of the evening. A bump to the NBC card could be in the works should either of the two TV fights - both of which are now scheduled for 12 rounds - happen to end early.


The 2012. U.S. Olympian will face Said El-Harrak, who has been in a bullish mood throughout fight week, with those reasons now coming to light. While Gausha easily made weight - coming in at 154.5 lbs. for their 10-round bout - El Harrak was 2.5 lbs. over the contracted 155 lb. limit.

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Refusing to shed any more weight, the Nevada-based Brit instead reached terms with Gausha - for an undisclosed amount - to allow the fight to proceed as-is.

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The same will have to be the case for the other leg of the late edition of PBC on NBSCN. Hugo Centeno Jr. came in at 162.75 lbs. for his scheduled 10-round clash with Josue Ovando, who weighed 163.5 lbs.

Ovando was 0.5 lbs. above the contracted 163 lb. limit, but was a no-show during the two-hour period allotted to shed the extra weight. The search ended with the spoiler from Mexico spotted in the dining area of the hotel chowing down on dinner.

The early edition of PBC on NBCSN (6:00 p.m. ET) features the return of Victor Ortiz, the former welterweight champ who fights for the first time in 52 weeks. His scheduled 10-round bout with Gilberto Sanchez-Leon went off without a hitch - unless you consider the lengthy process in landing an opponent for Ortiz.

Both fighters weighed 150 lbs. Ortiz was out for most of 2015 due to rehabilitation for a wrist that was fractured in four places. His last fight came one year ago - come Sunday - in a 3rd round knockout of Manuel Perez to end a three-fight losing streak.

Sanchez-Leon accepted assignment earlier this week, replacing Orlando Lora who was scratched from the show for undisclosed reasons.

Sharing airtime with Ortiz is a good looking super featherweight prospect in Mario Barrios. The local favorite takes on Manuel Vides in a scheduled eight round super featherweight clash. The 6'1" Barrios weighed in at 129.5 lbs, while Vides came in right at the divisional limit of 130 lbs.

Three fighters from the nine-fight non-televised undercard (15 fights in all on the show) also missed weight but with all issues resolved by the end of the day. Chief among the lot, Mayweather Promotions super middleweight prospect Lanell Bellows needed two tries to squeeze down to the contracted 173 lb. limit for his eight round bout with journeyman Michael Gbenga, who weighed 172 lbs.

Former featherweight champ Eric Aiken was slightly over the 124 lb. limit in place for his scheduled four-round bout with unbeaten Adam Lopez. The weighty matter was the first to be resolved, with Aiken hitting the mark less than an hour later.

Hapless super featherweight Rodolfo Zamora weighed 132.5 lbs. for a 130 lb. bout with Brandon Chaulker, who was well under the limit at 127.5 lbs. Perhaps eager to fight in front of his adoring fans or just seasonably charitable, Chaulker - who hails from Austin, Texas - forgave the overage and agreed to move forward with the fight.
 
FULL WEIGHTS

Omar Figueroa Jr, 151 lbs. vs. Antonio DeMarco, 149 lbs. - 12 rds, super welterweight
Chris Arreola, 236.5 lbs. vs. Travis Kauffman, 236.5 lbs. - 12 rds, heavyweight
Terrell Gausha, 154.5 lbs. vs. Said El Harrak, 157.5 lbs. - 10 rds, super welterweight
Hugo Centeno Jr, 162.75 lbs. vs. Josue Ovando, 163.5 lbs. - 10 rds, middleweight
Victor Ortiz, 150 lbs. vs. Gilberto Sanchez Leon, 150 lbs. - 10 rds, welterweight
Mario Barrios, 129.5 lbs. vs. Manuel Vides, 130 lbs. - 8 rds, super featherweight
Lanell Bellows, 173 vs. Michael Gbenga, 172 lbs. - 8 rds, super middleweight
Justin DeLoach, 155 lbs. vs. Santos Benavidez, 154.2 lbs. - 4/6 rds, super welterweight
Rickey Edwards, 139.5 lbs. vs. Ariel Paez, 142 lbs. - 6 rds, super lightweight
Adam Lopez, 124 lbs. vs. Eric Aiken, 124 lbs. - 4 rds, featherweight
Semajay Thomas, 140.5 lbs. vs. Farkhad Sharipov, 140 lbs. - 4 rds, super lightweight
Javier Rodriguez, 121.5 lbs. vs. Alejandro Moreno, 120.5 lbs. - 4 rds, super bantamweight
Brandon Figueroa, 118.5 lbs. vs. Francisco Muro, 120 lbs. - 4 rds, bantamweight
Brandon Chaulker, 127.5 lbs. vs. Rodolfo Zamora, 132.5 lbs. - 4 rds, super featherweight
Steve Hall, 147.5 lbs. vs. James Burns, 148.5 lbs. - 4 rds, welterweight

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox