By Jim Dower: Former WBC welterweight champion Victor Ortiz (29-3-2, 22 KO’s) successfully made weight on Friday for his clash with Josesito Lopez (29-4, 17 KO’s) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. During Friday’s weigh-in, Ortiz came in a half pound under the welterweight limit at 146.5 lbs.

For his part, the 28-year-old Lopez weighed 144.75 lbs, which shows you how serious he is about making weight.

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In light welterweight action, Humberto Soto came n at 139.5 lbs for his fight on Saturday against Lucas Matthysse. Soto is hoping to beat Matthysse and then get a title shot against WBA World light welterweight champion Marcos Maidana. Matthysse weighed in at 138.75 lbs. This is a toss up fight as both guys are really good. Matthysse should still be unbeaten at this point because his losses to Zab Judah and Devon Alexander were highly controversial. Soto perhaps has the better skills in comparison to Matthysse. However, Soto is 32 now, and he’s moving up in weight for this bout. Soto hasn’t faced a tough opponent in two years since his controversial 12 round decision over Urbano Antillon.

Matthysse is a step up from Antillon and it’s unclear whether Soto has enough left in the tank to beat a fighter as good as Matthysse. Even in his prime, Soto would have struggled against the likes of Matthysse. But now that he’s getting up there in age and hasn’t faced a serious threat in years, this fight looks like it might not go well for Soto. Never the less, it’s a great opportunity for Mattysse and Soto to showcase their skills because the fight will give both guys a lot of badly needed visibility.

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Here are the weights for Saturday’s fight card:

Victor Ortiz 146.5 – Josesito Lopez 144.75
Humberto Soto 139.5 – Lucas Matthysse 138.75
Jermell Charlo 153.75 – Denis Douglin 154.5
Omar Figueroa 137 – Alain Hernandez 137
Randy Caballero 119.5 – Jamal Parram 120
Michael Finney 148 – Joel Vargas 150.75
Julian Ramirez 123.75 – Israel Navarrete 125