Earlier this evening, Manny Pacquiao and Brandon Rios made weight for their Saturday night HBO pay-per-view clash in Macao, with Pacquiao coming in at 145 pounds and Rios at 146½ for the welterweight battle. Just as a side note, yes, there is a belt on the line in this fight, as the WBO has invented an "International welterweight title" for this bout, so that Manny and Brandon could give them money. The fighters went along with this for whatever reason. Rankings purposes. I don't know. Who cares?
Up top are three photos from the weigh-in. Pacquiao (54-5-2, 38 KO) looks fit and ready to go as always, and while Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO) may look a little gaunt in the face, that's basically par for the course for him. He says he made weight comfortably and was drinking water and what have you before the weigh-in. Maybe, maybe not, but I think it would be wise to believe he's in fine shape until proven otherwise in the ring. When guys are dried out, you truly see it in the ring more than on the scales.
Photos courtesy Chris Farina/Top Rank