Fight for the ages unfold today

LAS VEGAS—It was almost expected, the way both fighters prepared for this third match of their dramatic, action-packed rivalry.

Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez weighed in under the contracted limit for their WBO welterweight championship bout, firing up a supportive crowd with promises of their best performance when they face off Saturday at the MGM Grand’s Garden Arena here.

Pacquiao, the defending champion and eight-division king, came in at 143 pounds at Friday’s weigh-in also at the Garden Arena.

Marquez, his counterpunching rival, came in at 142.

“I will have to do my best in the ring so the fans will not be disappointed,” said Pacquiao.

The reigning pound-for-pound king has been hovering at 142 lb during training camp, prompting Freddie Roach to predict that he’ll tip the scales at around that weight.

“I’ll try to make him come a little heavier,” said Roach during training at Wild Card in Hollywood.

Pacquiao did add a pound.

Marquez, on the other hand, was penciled at 142 right from the start. His trainer, Nacho Beristain, wanted a perfect mix of moving up in weight without compromising his speed and superb counterpunching ability.

The Mexican’s camp also predicted that Pacquiao was going to come in at around 142, so there was no need to chase the 144-lb catch weight—three under the welterweight limit—for this third bout between two certified warriors.

“We don’t want to lose our speed and power,” said Beristain.

Former NBA star Jalen Rose, now working for ESPN, hosted the event alongside Michael Buffer, the noted ring announcer.

There were little fireworks during the weigh-in, with Pacquiao and Marquez respectfully holding back from any charged statements. Trainer Nacho Beristain did not utter anything inflammatory either.

But that doesn’t mean there was no color.

Joel Casamayor provided an amusing sidelight—drawing hoots and catcalls—when he came in a pound over the junior welterweight limit for his title bout against Timothy Bradley, who will be fighting in Las Vegas for the first time.

Buffer quieted fears the championship bout would be compromised by saying that the excess weight was nothing a “trip to the men’s room could not solve.”

Apparently, everybody listened, except Casamayor.

Looking stunned that he was overweight, Casamayor stripped naked to try to make weight. His handlers only had a jacket to make the scene modest. Casamayor tried to make weight twice more but was still half a pound above the limit.

All the while, he left himself exposed in front of the audience for a needlessly prolonged period.

Casamayor eventually made weight after an hour.

PACMAN GUARANTEED $22M

Pacquiao will make a guaranteed $22 million for the fight, a figure that could rise to $30 million once the pay-per-view and ticket sales figures come into play. Marquez is guaranteed at least $5 million.

Marquez said he trained hard for the fight, eager to mix it up with the world’s “best pound-for-pound fighter.”

In interviews with foreign journalists, he said he go would for the knockout if the opportunity presents itself.

Pacquiao spent an hour and a half in his suite at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay in prayer, before joining his team for breakfast. /inquirer