LAS VEGAS, Nevada — With a smile on his face and a snarl in his voice, Manny Pacquiao put to rest a weighty issue as he tries to overcome the biggest challenge in his career both for the glory of a nation and for his own share of boxing greatness. The Filipino icon battles his sport?s acknowledged Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya, in an intriguing welterweight battle Saturday at the MGM Grand?s Garden Arena here, in a fight card dubbed the ?Dream Match.? ?I?m ready to fight,? Pacquiao told journalists Friday night. ?It?s time to make history.? The 29-year-old brawler tipped the scales at 142 lbs Friday in a festive official weigh-in at the packed Garden Arena. The moment the number was called out and trainer Freddie Roach quickly approached the scale to check if he heard it correctly, everybody sensed something was wrong. ?I was surprised at my weight,? Pacquiao said later that evening inside his cushy 61st floor suite at THE Hotel at Mandalay Bay. ?Before I went to the weigh-in, I checked my weight and came in at 146 lbs.? That the 5-foot-10 De La Hoya made it at 145 lbs, two under the welterweight limits of 147lbs, drew even more questions. ?When I got to the venue, in less than an hour, I weighed 142 lbs. In less than an hour I lost four pounds and I did not even do anything. I don?t want to insinuate anything, but I lost four pounds in less than an hour without doing anything.? Not that Pacquiao want a full-blown inquiry into the matter. As a matter of fact, there was a seemingly misplaced tone of amusement in his voice as he recounted the turn of events that had him a full five pounds under the limit. It was when somebody noted that the extra weight may further disadvantage him in a fight where his opponent holds a tremendous size and reach edge that Pacquiao?s tone turned ferocious. ?Ako pa? Kilala niyo ako, hindi ako basta-basta nasisindak (You know me, I am not easily frightened),? exclaimed Pacquiao. ?Kung gusto nila, magsuntukan na kami ngayon, kahit wala pang gloves (If they want, we can have at it without gloves).? People may easily register different weights in different scales, but the difference is rarely as pronounced as four pounds. Pacquiao feels that De La Hoya may have rigged his way out of a $6-million penalty for being overweight. As stipulated in the fight contract, any fighter who weighs over 147 lbs will pay $3 million per excess pound. That clause was inserted into the contract as a safety measure by Roach to prevent De La Hoya from coming in too big and create an even bigger mismatch between the two fighters. De La Hoya, who has been in seclusion since reaching this gambling haven Monday night except for a few official public appearances, could not be reached for comment as his team immediately whisked him out of the venue after a couple of short television interviews. Prior to the weigh-in, though, De La Hoya said that he ?feels great? at the lower weight. “I feel energetic,? he said. ?I feel happy. I feel like I have a little bounce. I’m taking care of myself, to make sure that I keep the speed because the power is already there.” Pacquiao added there was no way the official scale and his own machine could have produced separate results because they were both on the mark just the day before. ?After I trained, I checked my weight and came in at 146. I ate a little and the next morning, I checked my weight again and came in at 146. All of a sudden, the official scale and my scale were off by four pounds. Take those four pounds and that means Oscar is 149.? As dangerous as the prospect of fighting a guy two pounds heavier than he should be is, Pacquiao remains unperturbed. In fact, he relished the challenge and — a day after being referred to as King Kong by De La Hoya — cooked up his own metaphor for the match. ?It?s David vs Goliath,? Pacquiao said, laughing. But this David is expected to have a tougher time against this Goliath. The Filipino pound-for-pound champ, who sports a 47-3-2 record spiked with 35 knockouts, battles the Golden Boy (29-5, 30 KOs) in a fight people say he cannot win. Even the betting odds, which was slowly working its way to an even line on fight night, suddenly turned against him after he registered 142 on the scales. Pacquiao is now a +160 underdog and De La Hoya a -190 favorite for the match. That means that a $100 bet on the Filipino will net an additional $160 while one has to bet $190 on De La Hoya to gain another $100. Before the weigh-in, De La was a -155 favorite and Pacquiao just a +125 underdog. Emanuel Steward, who once trained De La Hoya, praised Pacquiao?s ability to unload power punches in volumes from the first to the last round but still favored the Golden Boy to win this one. ?The odds would have to favor Oscar because he?s the bigger man and he?s not slow,? Steward said. Bernard ?The Executioner? Hopkins was even more brutally honest. ?This is one of the greatest fights ever and Oscar?s going to knock Manny out in the seventh or eighth round,? said the 43-year-old Hopkins, who is coming off an impressive victory over Kenny ?The Ghost? Pavlik. Steward says Pacquiao?s relentlessness and De La Hoya?s penchant for losing steam in the later rounds may be the only way that the outcome could be reversed. ?(Manny) He punches with full power from first round to 12th round. Most big punchers like Mike Tyson get tired after the first few rounds. Manny?s going to be punching at full speed and if Oscar tires like he does in all of his big fights, Manny could knock him out.? But the legendary trainer also warned De La Hoya that an inspired Pacquiao might just find a way to pull off an upset. ?I?ve never known any fighter in my life that has a whole country behind him,? Steward said. ?Julio Cesar Chavez was like that in Mexico, but nothing like Manny. He?s motivated because he feels like he?s not fighting for himself, he?s fighting for a lot of people.? ?It?s not just all of the Philippines, but all of Asia depending on this one little fellow.? And more than that, Pacquiao is fighting for his spot alongside the greats of the game. ?If I beat Oscar, I will be known not only in the Philippines but in the whole world,? Pacquiao had said. ?People are going to be talking about this fight for the next 50 years. This is going to be part of boxing history.? Pacquiao should also get a boost from a revelation by a former De La Hoya sparring partner that all the hype about how hard the Golden Boy trained for the fight is plain rubbish. ?Oscar doesn?t like to workout,? said super featherweight knockout artist Edwin Valero. The Venezuelan said he saw clips of Pacquiao in training and compared it to his experience with De La Hoya and from that predicted the Filipino to knock out his bigger rival. ?Oscar doesn?t like to run,? added the 27-year-old Valero. ?Pacquiao is going to knock Oscar out.? Whatever happens, Pacquiao is assured of his biggest windfall ever. The four-division champion and current WBC lightweight king is expected to earn close to $15 million for this fight, which includes a guaranteed purse — reportedly $6 million — and his share of the pay-per-view pie. The fight already is No. 2 on the Nevada bestseller list, second only to the De La Hoya-Floyd Mayweather blockbuster last year in terms of ticket sales. Experts said it took an economic turmoil in the US to prevent the ?Dream Match? from being No. 1. The official weigh-in was hosted by comedian George Lopez, who made a normally routine affair into a lively one, engaging the crowd and cracking one-liners that scored a knockout with his audience. ?This is one of the greatest fights in boxing so if you can?t watch it live, get it on pay-per-view. That?s where OJ is going to watch it for the next 15 years to life.? Lopez said, referring to disgraced football star OJ Simpson, who was sentenced to prison earlier that day. ?If you?re white, don?t forget to get this fight on pay-per-view. If you?re Latino, you can just, you know, connect the cables or whatever,? added Lopez, who is of Mexican descent. Also present during the weigh-in were Top Rank chief Bob Arum and Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer, announcer Michael Buffer and boxers Hopkins, Shane Mosely, Ricky Hatton, and Juan Manuel Marquez. Arum, who is co-promoting the fight with Golden Boy promotions, said he sensed something wrong with the way De La Hoya looked. ?I don?t know if it?s wishful thinking or if I?m seeing things that I shouldn?t be seeing, but Oscar looked drawn,? Arum said. ?If Oscar comes in more than 155 lbs, he?s going to be dead because he will be putting too much weight and that makes him vulnerable to body shots.?
