LAS VEGAS – There’s no eat-all-you-can sign posted inside Manny Pacquiao’s Mandalay Bay’s suite on the eve of the fight.
Pacquiao must have learned a lesson or two when he said he will limit his food intake after Friday’s official weigh-in and leading up to Saturday’s fight against David Diaz.
Pacquiao weighed in at 134.5 lbs, just a shade off the lightweight limit of 135.
But while he feasted on his favorite chicken tinola, adobo and kebab, rice and fruits moments after the weigh-in he said everything will be kept in check later on.
“I will just take what my body needs. I will not eat too much - maybe little by little,” he said.
Pacquiao, according to his trainer Freddie Roach, should climb the ring just around 145 lbs on fight night after more than 24 hours of replenishing.
For the Juan Manuel Marquez fight last March, Pacquiao weighed in at 129 lbs but climbed the ring the following day a huge 145-pounder, meaning he put on 16 pounds in just a day.
Roach noticed that this made Pacquiao a little sluggish, a little slower than usual, and this time he said he will keep an eye on his boxer’s intake after the weigh-in.
“I believe a boxer should not add more than 10 or 12 pounds after the weigh-in,” said Roach.
He said he was happy with the results of the weigh-in.
“I think 134 and a half is where we’re supposed to be. I think he still had to lose a pound last night because he over-ate a little bit. He miscalculated what he ate. He had a whole bowl of rice so he had to lose a pound,” said Roach.
Still, he liked what he saw.
“But he looks pretty healthy and he’s not so drawn unlike during the weigh-in the last time.”
Diaz, according to Roach, looked pretty well, too.
He looked so mean flexing his muscles after weighing in at exactly 135 lbs.
“He looks relaxed. I saw him with Fernando Vargas and they were cheering each other on. But I think he’s ‘gonna need a little more than that to win this one against the better guy.
“We have to fight the right fight. If we don’t fight the right fight and fight the Diaz fight we’re going to have a long night,” said Roach.