Manny Pacquiao, of the Philippines, knocks down Jessie Vargas during their WBO welterweight title boxing match, Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)
HOLLYWOOD—Juggling weight divisions comes easy for Manny Pacquiao. He’d done that in his prime, eight to nine years ago.
Up to now, however, a month short of turning 38, Pacquiao swears he can still switch weights, upward or downward, without a hitch.
Interviewed by a small group of foreign and Filipino reporters at his Wynn hotel suite, a day after wresting Jessie Vargas’ World Boxing Organization welterweight (147 pounds) crown, Pacquiao said he can still slide to 140 pounds (light welterweight), even 135 (lightweight).
Pacquiao even made a foray at super welterweight (154) once and emerged victorious over Antonio Margarito, who dwarfed him by five inches and outweighed him by 17 pounds on fight night.
“I can still do 135,” said Pacquiao. “All I need is to reduce for one week.”
At 135, Pacquiao will be on a collision course with Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist (2008 Beijing, 2012 London).
“My natural weight is 140,” said Pacquiao, who’ll be encroaching on the territory of Terence Crawford, the unified welterweight champion.
Already a bloated welterweight, needing to eat five times daily to bulk up, Pacquiao isn’t thinking of returning to 154, where Canelo Alvarez holds court. Not yet, anyway.
According to his strength and conditioning coach, Justin Fortune, Pacquiao is a “physical freak.” With extraordinary speed, power and stamina.
Pacquiao’s metabolism, is also very fast, enabling him to digest vast amount of food while in training.
It’ll hardly be surprising, of course, if Pacquiao decides to repeat his juggling act and embellish his boxing legacy further.