MACAU— The guy who was supposedly the expert in nutrition had trouble making weight Saturday at The Venetian.
Chris Algieri, who has a Master’s degree in clinical nutrition and healthcare management, tipped the scales at 144.4 lbs during the official weighin, a little over the catch weight of 144.
In an effort to make weight, Algieri, took off his underwear as his trainer Tim Lane and Top Rank executive Carl Moretti used a team jacket and the fighter’s school football jersey to cover him up.
Manny Pacquiao, who didn’t even go to college, breezed through the scales, coming in at 143.8.
Under the rules of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), which is sanctioning the welterweight bout, Algieri has two hours to shed off the excess baggage.
But it didn’t take long for Algieri to get rid of the excess weight and he scaled in at 143.6 after just one hour when Pacquiao was already resting in his suite and the only ones left at the venue mostly were boxing people and the media.
Algieri said he thought he was already in weight about two hours before the weighin after doing a trial weighin on the same scale.
But the scale may have malfunctioned when it was transported to the venue, said Lane.
“I thought we were where we needed to be,” said Lane, noting that they even had two scales that showed Algieri was within the limit.
But it was obvious they messed it up as Algieri had to go back to his room and do some running to get down.
Algieri, however, shrugged off claims that he had trouble making weight.
“No, I feel fine,” said the 30- year-old New Yorker, who took several gulps of Fiji artesian water.
But a close look at Algieri’s face showed he appeared pale and gaunt, his cheeks prominent and his eyes deep-set.
Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach, who claimed that Algieri was having weight problems, was indeed right on the money.