Lighter Mayweather 11-1 pick over Maidana

LAS VEGAS—Pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather weighed in half a pound less than World Boxing Association champion Marcos Maidana on Friday on the eve of their welterweight world title unification fight.

Mayweather, 45-0 with 26 knockouts, stepped on the scales weighing one pound under the 147-pound limit in front of a packed house of about 9,500 at the Grand Garden Arena.

Argentina’s Maidana, 35-3 with 31 knockouts, weighed in at 146.5 pounds for Saturday’s 12-round bout.

Mayweather is six pounds lighter than in his last fight against Mexico’s Canelo Alvarez.

But he looked fit and trim as he stripped off his red and white track suit and stepped onto the scales wearing bright red socks and pink boxer shorts to a loud applause.

Not many Vegas punters are giving Maidana a chance to upset Mayweather, who is a 11-1 favorite to retain his WBC welterweight crown and also claim Maidana’s WBA belt.

The two boxers engaged in a brief staredown then quietly went their separate ways, with Mayweather telling US pay-per-view telecaster Showtime that nothing is going to get in his way on Saturday night.

Mayweather is also facing some personal issues involving his love life ahead of Saturday’s fight.

“I perform better under pressure,” Mayweather said.    AFP

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