LOS ANGELES ? If everything works out fine, Manny Pacquiao should enjoy the upper hand over Juan Manuel Marquez even before Saturday?s opening bell at Mandalay Bay.
Pacquiao said he?s happy with where he is right now, at 133 lbs with six more days to go.
?I don?t want to end up too light because I want to be bigger, heavier than Marquez during the fight,? said Pacquiao, who took it easy Sunday, which is normally the day he stays out of the gym.
?Pushing my weight too low would favor Marquez. It?s like helping him even up things a bit. It?s better for me to be bigger than him in the ring,? Pacquiao told scribes who visited him in his apartment.
Marquez weighed 131 lbs two days ago, and should easily pass the 130 lb limit for the WBC super-featherweight championship during Friday?s official weigh-in. Marquez can climb the ring at 140 lbs give and take.
Pacquiao, on the other hand, plans to report for the weigh-in at 129 or 130 lbs, and show up at the Events Center the following day at around 144 lbs, a few lines heavier than a super-lightweight.
Boxers, after squeezing themselves dry days before the weigh-in, can gain as much as 15 lbs in 24 hours. For the Marco Antonio Barrera fight last October, Pacquiao weighed in at 130 and was 144 the next day.
?Mabuti na din yung mas malaki tayo,? said Pacquiao, who said he can still enjoy a good meal six days before the fight.
For Sunday?s dinner, he had rice, salmon and beef broth after spending a couple of hours playing darts with friends. He had his wife Jinkee sharing the table along with twin sister Jeanette and friends.
Pacquiao was good at darts, playing killers, and at one time hitting three bullseyes with all three darts.
?At least I can still eat meals and there?s no need to reduce yet. I shed off pounds through hard training, and not by skipping meals,? he added.
Pacquiao will attend a press conference in downtown LA 11 a.m. Monday and hold his final day of sparring Monday at the Wild Card Gym before towing his entourage for a 300-mile drive to Vegas at 3 p.m.
?I?m so excited,? Pacquiao said.
