LAS VEGAS ? If he can make 130, there?s just no reason why he can?t make 135.
Manny Pacquiao, on the eve of Friday?s official weigh-in, assured everyone on his side that he?s got his weight on check for Saturday?s showdown with WBC lightweight champion David Diaz.
?I got it. I?m okay,? said the 29-year-old megastar from the Philippines after a light 50-minute workout at the IBA Gym where the heat inside and out was just unbearable to many except for Pacquiao.
Pacquiao is moving up to lightweight and should have no problem with the additional five lbs. In his last fight at 130, against Juan Manuel Marquez last March, he showed up for the official weigh-in at 129 lbs.
?There?s no problem because of those extra five pounds. I just wanted to work out so I can still eat later. Then tomorrow I will fast until I am weighed,? he said as he rested inside a huge recreational vehicle after the workout.
He said later on inside the bedroom of his Mandalay Bay suite he?s at 137 lbs.
While Pacquiao looks comfortable with his weight, Diaz, as noticed by Filipino champion Nonito Donaire Jr., may be having some difficulty making 135. Others felt Diaz looked pale the other day.
?I was at the press conference last Wednesday and Diaz looked drained, like he couldn?t wait to get the weigh-in over with,? said Donaire, the reigning IBF flyweight champion.?
?He?s (Diaz) a natural 140-pounder so I think he?s having a hard time making 135. Manny, on the other hand, looked comfortable at lightweight, smiling and very attentive to what was going on,? he said.
This should make the weigh-in, set at 2:30 p.m. at the 12,000-seat Events Center, a little interesting.
Pacquiao fans are expected to show up in full force and watch their hero as he tips the official scale. Diaz fans should be there just the same and trade cheers and jeers with their counterparts.
It was 108 degrees Thursday in this gambling capital of the world. Still, Manny opted to train at the gym owned by former baseball star and Cy Young awardee Dean Chance.
?I didn?t want to train in the gym being offered by Mandalay Bay. I don?t like gyms with too much class,? said Pacquiao who wore a white sweat suit that definitely made it even hotter for him.
Freddie Roach was not around, he was attending to another fight in Vegas, as Pacquiao did two rounds of shadow boxing, three rounds of mitts with Buboy Fernandez and some time on the speed ball and skipping rope.
Also watching over the training session were Eric Brown and Alex Arriza, the conditioning coach.
Earlier in the morning Pacquiao jogged at the UNLV compound and had his favorite breakfast of chicken adobo, rice and fruits. He rested for a couple of hours and got at 3 p.m. before proceeding to the gym.
It was Pacquiao?s last day at the gym for this fight. Friday morning he said he might take a little walk within the hotel and take in very little food, probably a couple of boiled eggs, before the weigh-in.
