Oscar Valdez v Scott Quigg: Bury fighter loses world-title shot at scales

Quigg was not allowed time to lose the additional 2.8lbs because of rules in California

Scott Quigg has lost the chance to contest Oscar Valdez's WBO world featherweight title and says it is "not acceptable" he came in overweight.

Quigg weighed in at 128.8lbs, 2.8lbs over the limit, while undefeated Mexican Valdez scaled 125.8lbs for Saturday's bout in Los Angeles.

As Quigg was more than two pounds over, he is not given time to lose weight so will fight with no title on the line.

"Everything was on track, my body seems to have frozen," said the Briton.

"I've still got to figure it out. I'm so focused, so disciplined. Yesterday I was only three pounds over. It just wouldn't budge. I've done everything. I apologise to Oscar and his team. I have tried and tried, there's nothing more that I can say.

"I've still got the fight ahead of me. I still have to stay focused. I'm a pro through and through and it's not acceptable. I've put the work in and am still going to get the victory."

The Bury fighter will be fined 20% of his purse and, should he win, the title will become vacant.

Dave Coldwell - who trains Tony Bellew - said Quigg missing the weight was a "disaster"

Quigg was a world champion a weight division lower at super-bantamweight but moved up after defeat by Northern Ireland's Carl Frampton in 2016.

This was to have been his first world title shot since the defeat, which forced him to have surgery on his jaw and prompted a move to Los Angeles to work with trainer Freddie Roach early in 2017.

In the build-up to the bout, Quigg has said he would make the highly-rated Valdez "regret" picking him as a voluntary title defence.

The pair, who have shared sparring sessions in the past, will meet at the StubHub Center, Quigg's first fight in the US.

Valdez, 27, has not lost in 23 outings - winning 19 by knockout - and said Quigg's weight advantage "won't make a difference".

It would have been a fourth defence of the title and he starts the non-title contest as favourite with bookmakers, despite Quigg's own impressive record of one defeat in 37 bouts.