The fighters make weight
Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao weighed in below the welterweight limit Friday before a packed arena of screaming fans anticipating the landmark bout.
One day before Mayweather and Pacquiao finally meet tonight in the richest event in boxing history, they took the stage in an MGM Grand arena filled with fans enjoying the public’s best chance to see the fighters in person.
A beaming Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs) stepped on the scales first and weighed in at 145 pounds — two below the welterweight limit. Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) followed and weighed in at 146 pounds.
Sections of the crowd roared and booed for both, although the majority appeared to support Pacquiao, who raised both arms to the crowd with V’s for victory. Mayweather acknowledged his healthy cheering section with waves and a raised fist.
More boxing
An officer at a Philippine electric company has urged customers to turn off major appliances to help prevent outages that have recently plagued his province so people can watch the much-awaited fight. Palawan Electric Cooperative secretary Rante Ramos said shutting down refrigerators in 15,000 households alone will reduce the demand for electricity in the province enough to compensate for the expected power deficit of 2 megawatts when the fight is aired in Pacquiao’s native Philippines.
Colleges
Pitt women’s basketball coach Suzie McConnell-Serio will be honored Friday by the Heinz History Center as the sports recipient at the History Makers Award Dinner presented by BNY Mellon and Citizens Bank at the Westin Convention Center Hotel. Tickets are available to purchase by contacting Angela Ford at 412-4546405 or agford@heinzhistorycenter.org.
Hockey
Jason Spezza had two goals, Sidney Crosby added an assist and Canada showed its attacking power with a 6-1 win against Latvia in the first game of the world hockey championship in Prague. The U.S. beat 2014 runner-up Finland, 5-1.
Tennis
Top-seeded Roger Federer overcame some sloppy serving to beat unseeded Daniel Gimeno-Traver, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3, and reach the Istanbul Open semifinals. … Fifth-seeded Richard Gasquet beat Nicolas Almagro, 6-1, 7-6 (4), to advance to the Estoril Open semifinals in Portugal. … The quarterfinals of the BMW Open in Munich were rained out and rescheduled for today.