(Manny Pacquiao makes weight; photo courtesy Top Rank)
MACAU — Today’s early morning weigh-in at The Venetian went by largely without a hitch, with Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios both in fighting shape and under the welterweight limit. Pacquaio came in at a muscular 145 lbs, while Rios was a slightly softer 146.5 lbs. The Oxnard based slugger didn’t look like an exhumed corpse, which should be taken as a good sign given his track record of missing weight.
There were around 1000 fans in the Cotai Arena to see Pacquiao tip the scales. While China’s Zou Shiming got a big cheer when he made the flyweight limit, the crowd’s enthusiasm was mainly saved for Pacquiao. There were chants of “Manny, Manny” and boos for Rios, who lapped it up.
As for the undercard fighters, there was nothing much to report; Billy Dib nearly missed the featherweight limit, originally weighing in at 126.5 lbs. Luckily he was wearing the heaviest underpants in the world, and dropped half a pound when he dropped his dacks. His opponent, Evgeny Gradovich was a comfortable 125.75 lbs.
Heavyweight Andy Ruiz, Jr. came in at a big 257 lbs, but didn’t look quite as fat as last time out. There were some unkind remarks from the crowd comparing his chest to the Top Rank girls’, but he actually has the slightly deflated look of a man who’s losing weight. His opponent Tor Hamer was a much trimmer 220 lbs.
And Felix Verdejo’s Thai opponent Petchsamuthr Duanaaymukdahan (Michael Buffer looked very pleased with himself when he nailed that) was 1.5 lbs over the lightweight limit but couldn’t have given less of a shit. He also won the award for the day’s best underpants with his cheetah print briefs.
