LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao and Yordenis Ugas were both on target at the scale on Friday (Saturday, Manila time), setting the tone for their WBA welterweight title showdown at the T-Mobile Arena.
Ugas, 35, and the defending champion from Cuba, tipped in exactly at the welterweight limit of 147 lbs. during the official weigh-in at the MGM Grand which wasn’t opened to the public this time of the pandemic.
Pacquiao, the 42-year-old legend and challenger, came in at a trim weight of 146 lbs.
“I’m very emotional and very excited for this opportunity,” said Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs). “I have the belt. Whoever wins tomorrow (Saturday) gets the belt. But right now, I’m the champion.”
‘I’m not taking this fight lightly. Of course I don’t want to be over-confident for this fight,” Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) said for his part.
In one of the undercards, undefeated Filipino Mark Magsayo also made weight for his featherweight bout against Mexican Julio Ceja.
The 26-year-old Magsayo weighed-in at 125.5 lbs for the 12-round bout that serves as a title eliminator for the right to face reigning WBC champion Gary Russell. The native of Tagbilaran, Bohol sports a perfect 22-0 record with 15 KOs.
Ceja, 28, hit the scale at 125 lbs. The Mexican (32-4-1, 28 KOs) thrice fought for the world championship belt, but lost on all three times.
Filipino American John Dato also stakes his undefeated record in the Pacquiao-Ugas undercard as he faces Mexican Angel Contreras in a featherweight bout set for eighth rounds.
The 28-year-old Dato, who was born in Bangar, La Union but grew up in California, has a 14-0-1 record with 9 KOs, while Contreras’ record stands at 10-4-2 (6 KOs).
