LAS VEGAS ? Manny Pacquiao and Jessie Vargas on Friday (Saturday in Manila) overcame the last hurdle heading to their title showdown, safely making the welterweight limit and looking primed to go.
Pacquiao, the challenger to Vargas? WBO welterweight belt, was first to tip the scales, weighing in at 144.8 pounds ? well below the division limit of 147 pounds ? at the official weigh-in ceremony at the Encore Theatre of Wynn Las Vegas here.
?I feel happy to be back,? declared Pacquiao, who sported gray shorts and white sneakers, to roaring approval from the sizable crowd at the venue.
He said becoming a world boxing champion who?s also an incumbent Philippine senator is what motivates him.
?I want to go for another record in the history of boxing,? Pacquiao said, adding that being a challenger gives him an extra push.
?I’m the challenger. I have to fight that way.? Sportshub ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
For his part, Vargas registered 146.5 pounds, just half a pound the limit. After hitting the scales, the champion raised both his hands, and was then handed a bottle of sports drink by one of his aides for him to chug on.
His trainer, the well-versed Dewey Cooper, earlier said he expects Vargas to walk around 154 pounds ? already as a junior middleweight ? by fight night Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center (Sunday in Manila).
It could mean Vargas is packing the extra pounds to boost what he had been claiming throughout the promotion as his newfound punching power.
Vargas, seeking worldwide recognition, vowed to use all his physical advantages ? particularly his height and reach against the heavily favored Pacquiao.
He is a champion still waiting for his actual coronation in a little over 24 hours.
?It will mean the world to me to defeat him,? said Vargas in a short interview at the stage.
?The few to have beaten Manny Pacquiao have become legends, and I look forward to becoming a legend myself.?
