Andrew Montanez had trouble deciphering sounds during a weigh-in prior to a regional fight card at the Icenter in Salem, New Hampshire, in 2009. Montanez, 24 at the time, was dehydrated so badly from cutting weight that there were moments he remembers barely being able to hear. Years later, the moment clings to Montanez because it was when he decided to reevaluate what he was doing with his life.
Montanez’s hearing returned after he fought his way through the darkness and made the lightweight limit like he was supposed to. The following night, he lived up to the terms of his bout agreement against a rising prospect from neighboring Massachusetts nicknamed “The Boston Finisher.