FIGHT OF CHAMPIONS:
Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao gestures as he arrives for the weigh-in of his fight against Lucas Matthysse (left inset) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia yesterday. Right inset shows Pacquiao supporters cheering and holding placards during the weigh-in at a packed auditorium of the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Center.
KUALA LUMPUR – It was a typical scene, a typical weigh-in for a Manny Pacquiao fight.
Michael Buffer, the legendary ring announcer, lent his baritone voice in introducing the fighters in Sunday’s main event.
Pacquiao, the challenger, was first to climb the stage and was first to be introduced inside a packed ballroom of the MITEC center here.
His fans chanted his name as Pacquiao undressed, and in striped boxers, weighed in at 146 pounds, a pound under the limit.
Matthysse, taller and wider, came in at 146.7.
Then the two posed before the cameras, doing the traditional staredown that lasted just a few seconds. They shook hands afterwards.
It’s the heaviest that Pacquiao weighed in his most recent fights as a welterweight, and he plans to add just a few more pounds for the fight itself.
Matthysse may put on more weight, and count on a heavier frame inside the ring.
The champion from Argentina left the venue for the weigh-in early, and had opted to rehydrate in the comforts of his Le Meridien suite.
Pacquiao, in contrast, stayed on, in a room filled with his most loyal supporters, including politicians, who surrounded the boxer as he loaded up.
The senator and boxer had steak, T-bone, well done, when his other favorite foods were on the table. He barely touched them.
It took him more than an hour to leave the room, surrounded by his bodyguards.
Pacquiao took questions from the media as he finished his meal. Will he go for the knockout?
“If the opportunity comes... why not?,” he said.
“I’m ready,” he added.