Pacquiao vs Rios: Brandon Rios expects to make weight comfortably

Brandon Rios isn't lacking for confidence as he heads into a career-biggest fight against Manny Pacquiao on November 23 in Macao, China, in the headline bout of an HBO pay-per-view. The 27-year-old brawler says he expects to be very comfortable fighting at 147 pounds, and feels he's "way bigger" than his opponent.

"Definitely I think that's gonna be one of the big things too because I am way bigger than Pacquiao and yes I'm gonna be comfortable fighting at 147 lbs I know I was supposed to fight at 140 but the last 2-3 pounds is not gonna kill me, it won't be a factor, so 147 is gonna be a great opportunity for me, I'm gonna feel very strong at 147 lbs. My walking around weight is at 155 so it's not gonna be hard to make 147. I'm probably about 159-160 right now," Rios told On The Ropes Boxing Radio.

Rios (31-1-1, 23 KO) has an issue in his statement here, since he says his walking around weight is at 155, but he's 159-160 right now, so that's weird, and he also says that he doesn't expect to be over 150 on fight night, which I dunno, maybe it's me, but I expect him to be in the mid-150s in the ring, and the high 150s would probably be no surprise.

If you recall, when Rios grew out of 135 and had to go up to 140, he thought he'd be able to easily make 140. He was not. He admits to struggling to make that weight, too. So now he's headed up to 147, and expects that to be easy. Obviously what will really matter is his dedication to making the weight on time, and not just moving the limit up.

How do you think Rios will look at 147? Will he lose some of what has made him effective, or will the extra weight just amplify his strengths?