By Norm Frauenheim-
LAS VEGAS – Manny Pacquiao stepped off the scale, walked to the edge of the stage and winked. Then, he waved.
Weigh-ins are nothing if not about body language. In a week full of talk about whether Pacquiao is on the eve of his last fight, one wave Friday was enough for endless speculation and interpretation.
Was this one more goodbye wave? All week long, he has been dropping hints that he might be moving on.
Or was he just saying hello? Just Manny being Manny.
Or was the gesture a mocking way of saying that he intends to make Yordenis Ugas go bye-bye Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in a pay-per-view fight? Pacquiao’s corner is saying he will win by knockout, which would be his first as a welterweight and his first since 2009.
The possibilities are all there, tipping the scale toward an intriguing fight, an event that could mark the final chapter to one legend and the beginning of another in the Filipino Senator’s likely campaign for his country’s presidency.
Pacquiao, now a practiced politician, never says much. Pacquiao, the presumed candidate and eight-division champion, also knows a thing or two about how to throw an artful feint, in the ring and on the stage. He dedicated the fight to the people who will cast ballots in next year’s presidential election, May 9.
“For the Filipino people,’’ Pacquiao said after weighing 146 pounds, one less than the mandatory, for the 72nd fight in a career that includes world titles in four decades.
Pacquiao (62-7-2, 39 KOs) is the favorite, both at the sports book and on the street. That’s not much of a surprise. He was more than a 3-1 favorite about 24 hours before opening bell on the PPV card (6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET). The weigh-in was closed to the public. Only a media crowd of a few hundred was allowed into the scheduled ritual at the Grand Garden Arena at the MGM, because of the ongoing surge in COVID.
But the Pacquiao constituency was there, gathered up a flight of stairs and behind a roped-off barrier.
“Manny, Manny,”” they chanted.
It was loud and clear. Their echoes could be heard on the floor, up on the stage and on the scale. They expect 42-year-old Pacquiao to win.
He’s only smaller physically. In stature, he overshadows Ugas in every conceivable way. At 5-foot-9, Ugas is taller by a couple of inches. With a 69-inch reach, he’s wider. He was also one pound heavier Friday at 147. But there was no way to get out from under long shadow that the Pacquiao legend casts.
“I respect him,’’ Ugas (26-4, 12 KOs) said Friday, sounding very much like a young man speaking of a wise elder.
On Saturday, however, Ugas promises something else.
“All respect is finished when we get into the ring,’’ the 35-year-old said through an interpreter.
In terms of respect, there’s not much of it on Ugas’ side of the scale. He’s the late stand-in, rushed into the main event off the undercard because Errol Spence was found to have a torn retina during a formal physical a couple of weeks ago.
Ugas has neither Spence’s power nor proven skillset. But he does have a performance that some think indicates he has a chance. He lost a controversial split-decision to Shawn Porter in March 2019. Many thought he won.
Few are picking Ugas to win. If Porter were fighting Pacquiao instead of Ugas, however, Porter might get the nod. At the very least, it would be a pick’em fight
“I’m here to wreck any future plans Manny Pacquaio has in the ring,’’ Ugas said when he arrived at the MGM Grand Tuesday.
Maybe, Pacquiao was waving bye-bye to that one.
