May 01--REPORTING FROM LAS VEGAS -- Floyd Mayweather Jr. weighed in at 146 pounds and Manny Pacquiao at 145 on Friday for their much-anticipated welterweight title unification bout at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Saturday night.
The weight limit for the bout is 147 pounds.
Mayweather (47-0, 26 KOs) is expected to confront the most difficult test of his defensive superiority against Pacquiao (57-5-2, 38 KOs), the constant-punching and record eight-division champion from the Philippines.
Pacquiao thrust his hands skyward as he greeted the 15,000 fans in attendance, a majority who supported him, although Mayweather also had plenty of vocal supporters in the crowd.
The two were mostly stoic during their face-to-face pose, Pacquiao appearing to say "thank you" to the unbeaten champion.
"Thanking him for the fans that the fight will happen," Pacquiao said afterward. "I think, I believe, that the fight must happen because the fans deserve it."
The 15,000 fans paid $10 apiece for tickets. The money was donated equally by Mayweather and Pacquiao to breast-cancer and brain-research facilities, respectively.
"I've dedicated myself to the sport of boxing for over 20 years, and I'm ready," Mayweather said.
Kenny Bayless will be the referee for the fight, while the judges will be Dave Moretti of Las Vegas, Burt A. Clements of Reno and Glenn Feldman of Avon, Conn.
Promoters are scrambling to accommodate a flood of ticket requests from celebrities, business tycoons and superstars from other sports.
Most of the 16,800-seat arena at the MGM Grand has been divvied up among the resort and the two fighters' camps, with only 500 seats made available for public sale.
There will be about 900 ringside spots, depending on the final configuration. That isn't enough for all the A-list names and high rollers who want to be near the action.
"They can't all sit in the front row," said Dena duBoef of Top Rank Inc., which represents Pacquiao. "Tickets and seating are probably the biggest nightmare for this fight."
Associated Press contributed to this report
