Tagoe misses weight by ten pounds ahead of Shields vs Scott

Emmanuel Tagoe weighed in approximately ten pounds over the contracted limit for his scheduled fight against Ernesto Mercado. The Ghanaian fighter arrived at the Friday weigh-in significantly above the 140-pound requirement for the DAZN co-main event at State Farm Arena.

As a result of the weight miss, the original matchup was cancelled. Ernesto Mercado, who remains unbeaten, will now face Roger Hilley in a ten-round contest at a catchweight of 146 pounds. Tagoe's failure to meet the limit raises questions regarding his ability to compete at super lightweight, especially as he is 37 years old and has been out of the ring for one year.

Tagoe had previously made the 140-pound limit in 2025, but he missed the mark by a wide margin this time. While he had indicated on social media that he was prepared for the bout, the weight discrepancy forced the change to the Atlanta card.

Other weight issues affected the event. Danielle Perkins weighed 179 pounds for her WBA women’s light heavyweight title defense against Olivia Curry, missing the 175-pound limit by four pounds. Although Curry successfully weighed in at 173.4 pounds, the fight was removed from the Zeus Network undercard.

These changes occurred alongside the successful weigh-ins for the main event. Claressa Shields and Kaye Scott both made weight for their middleweight title fight for the WBC and WBA belts, which serves as the first women's boxing event to headline State Farm Arena.