Floyd Mayweather Jr.  at their official weigh-in on Sunday (Saturday in Manila) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas
Floyd Mayweather Jr. at their official weigh-in on Sunday (Saturday in Manila) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nevada: Undefeated American champion Floyd Mayweather, Jr., who boasts of being The Best Ever, could be in big trouble on fight night, a physical conditioning expert who refused to be identified said today.

The physical conditioning guru made the observation after the weigh-in of Mayweather and Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao in the jampacked MGM Grand Arena here in Las Vegas.

Mayweather, 39, and Pacquiao, 37, will clash for 12 rounds or less for the title of undisputed Welterweight Championship recognised by four boxing bodies.

Mayweather, taller and naturally heavier than the Filipino fighter tipped the scale at 146 lbs., one pound lower than the weight limit of 147 lbs. while Pacquiao came in at 145 lbs.

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“He’s dead if Manny goes to the midsection,” said the physical conditioning expert who added that Mayweather overly reduced his weight and would have problems to rehydrate in time for the fight.

“Mayweather should not have squeezed himself to 146 pounds. He should have weighed 147 so that he will be able to regain enough mass and weight which could be his advantage going up against a smaller fighter like Pacquiao,” the conditioning guru said.

“I assume that on fight night, Mayweather would only be able to regain 6 to 7 pounds. His weight in the ring would be between 152 to 153 pounds,” he said.

“Manny, on the other hand, is expected to be between 150 to 151 lbs. and he would be very fast compared to Floyd,” the conditioning expert said.

He added that the problem with boxers who are not able to fully rehydrate is they cannot withstand punishment in the midsection.

In spite of the physical conditioning expert’s observations, however, Mayweather remained the betting favorite at -200 to win by decision meaning that a bet of $200 for the American champion will only earn $100 if he defeats Pacquiao.

While the betting odds highly favor Mayweather, boxing fans picked Pacquiao to win 54 percent over 46 percent, statistics based on the preference of Twitter followers which were posted in MGM Grand’s giant electronic image board.

Tickets to the fight, considered as the richest in the history of the sport with revenues estimated to reach $400 million, have been sold out.

The prices of the tickets ranged from $1,500 in the bleachers to $10,000 at ringside. There are reports, however, that choice ringside tickets are being sold for $100,000 in the black market.