On Thursday, Jake Giuriceo (16-0) hovered around Keith Burnside‘s new gym trying to cut weight.  With a sweatsuit zipped up to the neck and covered in sweat, he smiled and said I could interview him while he jumped rope.  I waited.  Making 140 is no easy task for these fighters.

Burnside, getting ready to christen his new gym in Struthers, kept tinkering with the scale to ensure it would be reading accurately.  Meanwhile, a heavyweight named Brandon Winner, who also trains for Burnside started to rib Giuriceo about weight while he was doing all he could to sweat out the extra half of a pound that needed to go away.

“Man, you need top get serious about this.  If you can’t be serious about it, you might as well just stay home and quit wasting your time”, said Giuriceo.  “You need to decide whether or not you want to keep eating and drinking, or you want to lose weight and be committed to this sport, because you are a joke at that weight.”

A few moments later, typical good-hearted Giuriceo peeked through with, “I am just telling you that out of love, to help you get focused, you need to get serious, I made the choice to do away with the booze and the food to get serious.”

Late Friday, I received word that Giuriceo succeeded in making the weight, checking in at 140.  His opponent, Michael Clark (42-7) tipped the scales at 140.5.  This fight offers new challenges for Giuriceo.

For starters, he is fighting in Columbus, a market yet to be exposed to The Bull.  According to Giuriceo’s manager, Joe Corvino, the Campbell native needs to learn how to win outside of his own backyard and the fight will serve as a good experience in that regard.

Giuriceo, who recently got married, said that the marriage has been another in a long string of blessings in his life that spiritually motivates him.

“I am married now, so I have another reason to fight for something”, said Giuriceo.  “I could not be happier or more motivated than I am right now.”

“I expect a tough fight”, said Giuriceo.  “You don’t win 42 fights by not being a good boxer, and he is going to be a good challenge.  I worked hard this camp on my power, the way I throw my punches. I was unhappy my last fight even though I was blessed to come away with a win, but my punches did not feel right.”

Results will be posted here once I get them.  Good Luck Jake!