By Jake Donovan

So far, it's not an HBO main event to remember for Nicholas Walters. The unbeaten featherweight is now a former titlist, as he was forced to vacate his belt after weighing over the limit for Saturday's showdown with Miguel Marriaga at  Madison Square Garden Theatre in New York City. 

Walters weighed 127.4 lbs. during the initial weigh-in and was granted two hours to lose the additional 1.4 lbs. He returned at 4:00 p.m. ET, but couldn't get any lower than 127 lbs., leaving him beltless and also subject to a pending fine from the New York State Athletic Commission.

"I'm coming off of an eight-month layoff. I tried everythinhg," Walter (25-0, 21KOs) offered as his alibi during an interview with Top Rank's Crystina Poncher. 

Despite his coming in heavy, the show will still go on. Marriaga (20-0, 18KOs) will still be eligible to win the vacant title, having weighed in at 125.2 lbs. for his HBO debut.

In the televised co-feature pits Felix Verdejo versus Ivan Najera in a 10-round lightweight battle. Both fighters made weight with ease for their respective HBO-televised debuts:  Verdejo (17-0, 13KOs) Najera came in at 133 lbs., his lightest weight in more than a year; Najera (16-0, 8KOs) was closer to the junior lightweight limit, weighing in at 131.4 lbs. 

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox