Pacquiao, Algieri hurdle scales, primed for battle

MACAU – Things went smoothly for Manny Pacquiao at the scales, but the same cannot be said for Chris Algieri, who challenges the Filipino for the WBO welterweight championship at the Cotai Arena here Sunday.

Pacquiao on Saturday tipped the scales at 143.8 pounds during a well-attended official weigh-in ceremony, looking primed and comfortable a day before his clash with the undefeated American.

It was a different story for Algieri though, who had to shed two-tenths of a pound to meet the 144-pound catch weight limit. The challenger – met by boos from the heavily pro-Pacquiao crowd – weighed 144.4 pounds in his first attempt, after which he stripped naked.

The display read 144.2, still over the contracted weight.

After posing with Pacquiao in a customary stare down, Algieri headed to the dressing room and did some shadowboxing. Given two hours to shed the excess pounds, he emerged and fulfilled his end of the bargain when he registered 143.6 pounds less than an hour later.

SPECIAL COVERAGE: Pacquiao-Algieri

Pacquiao, on the other hand, had no trouble making weight as usual. He entered the stage wearing a blue shirt and gray jogging pants, and the crowd welcomed him with cheers. His family, including his mother Dionisia and wife Jinkee and their four children, watched from the stands.

"I'm excited to share my speed and bring back the early days of my boxing career. I'm having the hunger that I had when I was young," the Filipino icon said in a short interview onstage.

“It’s an honor to fight undefeated guys,” Pacquiao added, referring to Algieri (20-0, with 8 knockouts).

Both fighters were ripped and appeared to be well-conditioned, and except for the minor hitch on Algieri’s part, they looked ready to rumble. They tangle at the same venue in 24 hours before an expected sellout crowd.

“I’m ready. I have the talent and skills to do it (win),” said Algieri.

It’s show time in Macau.