LAS VEGAS — Manny Pacquiao, fighting for the first time in the United States in 26 months, heard cheers from the thousands inside the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Friday when he came to the stage for his weigh-in for his fight against Adrien Broner, who also had many fans rooting wildly for him.
Pacquiao and Broner, two of boxing’s biggest names, will meet for Pacquiao’s secondary welterweight world title on Saturday (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET), and both appeared to be in prime condition.
Pacquiao, the Filipino legend and boxing’s only eight-division world champion, was 146 pounds and Broner, a former four-division world titlist, was 146.5 pounds for their bout for a 147-pound belt.
They were all business, easily making weight and then posing for photos. But as Pacquiao turned away from Broner (33-3-1, 24 KOs), 29, of Cincinnati, and smiled broadly as he acknowledged the crowd, Broner continued to stare right at him.
The fight is by far the biggest of Broner’s career and an opportunity for him to erase much of the disappointment he has felt from losing decisions each time he has stepped up against an elite opponent in Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter and Marcos Maidana. He is also trying to put an 0-1-1 rut behind him.
“It’s a hell of an opportunity, man,” Broner told Showtime’s Jim Gray. “I’m not just doing this s— for me. I’m doing it for the ‘hood. After I win, I’ll be a legend overnight.”
Pacquiao (60-7-2, 39 KOs) said he was motivated to show he was still an elite boxer despite turning 40 last month.
“It’s just a number. I’m 40, but I still feel young,” Pacquiao said. “[Saturday] I have something to prove that at the age of 40 I can still be at my best.”
Light heavyweight Badou Jack (22-1-3, 13 KOs), 35, of Las Vegas, and Marcus Browne (22-0, 16 KOs), 28, of Staten Island, New York, who will fight for a vacant interim light heavyweight world title in the co-feature, both weighed the division limit of 175 pounds and then exchanged shoves when they posed for photos.
“He’s soft,” Browne said. “[The commissioners] told us to calm down. It’s nothing really personal. It’s business, man. I got to beat his ass.”
Jack, who has won world titles at light heavyweight and super middleweight, said, “He’s a good fighter. I respect everybody who steps in the boxing ring, but just another day at the office.”
Bantamweight Nordine Oubaali (14-0, 11 KOs), 32, a former two-time Olympian from France, weighed the division limit of 118 pounds, and three-time U.S. Olympian and former world titleholder Rau’shee Warren (16-2, 4 KOs), 31, of Cincinnati, who lost a 19-18 decision to Oubaali in the opening round of the 2012 Olympics, was 116.5 pounds. They will meet for a vacant world title.
Interim featherweight titlist Jhack Tepora (22-0, 17 KOs), 23, of the Philippines, was a whopping 5.5 pounds overweight for his defense against former junior featherweight titlist Hugo Ruiz (38-4, 33 KOs), 30, of Mexico.
Tepora, a Pacquiao-promoted fighter, was 131.5 pounds in a fight for a 126-pound belt. So he was stripped of his belt and removed from the show per Nevada State Athletic Commission rules on the allowable spread in weight between combatants. Ruiz will instead face countryman and former bantamweight world title challenger Alberto Guevara (27-3, 12 KOs), 28, in a 10-round fight that will open the pay-per-view broadcast. Guevara, who has won nine of his last 10 fights, weighed 126 pounds. He had been on standby for the past week because of Tepora’s weight issues and was pressed into service.
The Nevada commission also released the official purses for the card. Pacquiao will earn at least $10 million and Broner at least $2.5 million. They will also earn a percentage of any profits. Jack will earn $500,000, Browne $250,000, Warren $125,000, Oubaali $85,000, Ruiz $30,000 and Guevara $8,000. Tepora loses a $50,000 purse.