Pacman weighs 138.75 but Roach not worried

Manny Pacquiao weighed in at 138.75 lbs yesterday in Los Angeles but his camp seemed the very least worried about the 130 lbs limit for the Nov. 18 battle with Erik Morales in Las Vegas.

The 27-year-old Filipino weighed in at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. According to his chief trainer and gym owner Freddie Roach, Pacquiao tipped the scales wearing shorts and fighting shoes.

"His real weight is about 136," said Roach who, like Pacquiao, is not at all worried about the situation.

The weigh-in came only 24 days before the big fight at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Rudy Tellez of the World Boxing Council supervised the mandatory weigh-in that comes inside 30 days before the fight. Under the rules, a fighter cannot exceed the weight limit by 10 percent 30 days before a fight.

Morales, the former three-time world champion, weighed last week in Mexico City. Clad only in cotton shorts, he stood at 142 lbs, and in great danger of meeting the 130 limit.

Pacquiao has been training heavily in Los Angeles for over a month now. He came in with no weight problems, unlike Morales who was reportedly at 165 lbs when the fight was sealed last July.

Morales spent two months at the high-tech Velocity Training Center in LA for two months, undergoing a weight-reduction program run by at least six international experts.

After the fight press conference last Sept. 18 at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Morales proceeded to his mountain hideaway, two hours away from Mexico City, for serious road and gym work.

Morales said he felt "unbelievably strong" after tipping the scales at 142, although some experts believe that he was merely trying to stay positive despite the fact that he had to lose 12 lbs in less than a month.

If indeed Pacquiao is at 136 as Roach claimed, the left-handed slugger only needs to lose a pound every four days and head into the fight practically on a full tank.

In contrast, Morales has to shed 12 lbs in less than a month. While it’s definitely possible, the big question is how much power would be left in him by the time he climbs the ring against an in-form Pacquiao.

Sanirose Orbeta, the country’s top sports nutritionist, said losing 12 lbs in a month is "precarious because for boxers, we normally allow weight loss of anywhere from four to six pounds in a month."

Adding up the pressure was Roach’s recent statement that they wouldn’t fight Morales if the Mexican would come in heavier than 132 lbs during the final and official weigh-in on the eve of the fight.

Under the fight contract, Morales would pay Pacquiao $500,000 if the former tips the scale from 130.1 to 131 lbs, and $1 million if he even goes 132 or heavier.

Pacquiao will also have the option to take the $1 million and not fight Morales anymore. If Morales comes in heavier than 132, Pacquiao might just take the easy money.

And run back home.