COMMENTARY | The official weigh-ins were held on Friday afternoon for the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 4 pay-per-view event taking place this weekend, live on HBO Pay-Per-View at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
There were a few important questions about the weigh-ins and how the fighters would look on the scales, and a huge throng of fans, numbering close to 3,000, turned up to watch the event for themselves, showing the magnitude of the bout. Take a look at the official fighter weights and an analysis of the weigh-in below.
Official Pacquiao vs. Marquez Fighter Weights
Juan Manuel Marquez stepped on the scales first, and weighed 143 pounds. He was followed by Manny Pacquiao, who weighed in at the full Welterweight limit of 147 pounds.
On the undercard, Patrick Hyland and Javier Fortuna each weighed 126 pounds; Mercito Gesta weighed 134 lbs and Miguel Vazquez weighed 135 pounds; and Michael Farenas and Yuriorkis Gamboa both weighed 130 pounds.
Weigh-In Analysis
One of the major story lines leading up to the fight is the newly-muscular frame of Juan Manuel Marquez. When he fought Floyd Mayweather at Welterweight just a few years ago, he looked scrawny compared to the way he looks today.
At the advanced age of 39, his added bulk, combined with the fact that his strength and conditioning coach, Angelo Guillermo Heredia, has admittedly been involved with performance enhancing drug schemes in the past, has led to intense speculation of Marquez's potential PED usage. Marquez and his team have steadfastly denied any such claims, but the questions are lingering and the physical imagery is hard to ignore.
Nevertheless, he was well under the 147-pound limit of the division, which comes as a surprise given that new muscle mass.
Meanwhile, it was Pacquiao who did weigh in at the full limit. It's only the second time in his eight fights in either the Welterweight or Junior Middleweight divisions that he weighed that much. The only previous time was for his last fight against Timothy Bradley.
The thinking here is likely that Pacquiao's camp wants him to have some extra strength, both to combat Marquez's muscle mass, and also to give his punches a little more oomph. It's no secret that both men want to hush the critics and put an exclamation at the end of this rivalry with a knockout win.
After the two men stepped on the scales, they had the typical stare down. Both men were very intense and focused as they squared off face to face, just inches apart. It was Marquez who was altogether more enthusiastic and energized, pumping his fists and exciting the crowd. Pacquiao was a little bit more stoic and laid back at the weigh-ins in contrast.
As mentioned, there was a huge crowd at the weigh-in, with more people watching these two fighters step on the scales than show up to the vast majority of fights. Each man had their supporters, waving the flags of their country, chanting their fighter's name and trying to outdo the other side.
Of course, there are two other Filipino fighters on the card -- Gesta and Farenas -- for the Pacquiao fans to support, and one other Mexican fighter on the card for the Marquez fans to back, Vazquez.
Finally though, all the waiting and anticipation is out of the way. The rest of the questions will be answered in the ring. Everyone has made weight, and looks ready and eager for Saturday night.
Jake Emen runs the boxing news website ProBoxing-Fans.com, where you can find breaking news stories, interviews, rankings and more. You can also follow Jake and ProBoxing-Fans.com on Twitter, @ProBoxingFans.
