Nothing Heavy: Bradley, Marquez lighter than 147-pound limit in uneventful weigh-in

LAS VEGAS – The Juan Manuel Marquez-Timothy Bradley fight Saturday night is hard to predict. The weigh-in wasn’t.

Marquez and Bradley did the expected, both stepping onto the scale lighter than the welterweight’s mandatory limit, 147, pounds, Friday in an uneventful formality.

Marquez (55-6-1, 40 KOs), the challenger and a slight favorite late Friday, was first to the scale. Amid chants from his Mexican fans at the Encore Theater at the Wynn hotel and casino, Marquez was 144.5 pounds, including a bright silver chain. If he had taken off that chain, he might have been a pound lighter.

Bradley (30-0, 12 KOs), who holds the World Boxing Organization’s version of the welterweight title, didn’t have the chanting fans. But he brought a pound-and-half more to the scale than Marquez did. He weighed 146 pounds.

A lot has been said about Bradley possessing an advantage in size over Marquez, who is attempting to become the first Mexican to win titles at five different weights. On Friday, however, the difference appeared negligible. Both looked sculpted and without a hint of any struggle to make weight.

There had been some question about Bradley, who said the 147-pound weight was a difficult challenge before his bruising decision in March over Ruslan Provodnikov. But Bradley was at 148 pounds Thursday, according to his trainer, Joel Diaz.

The weight was no problem. That’s good thing, because Marquez will be in what figures to be one of Bradley’s toughest fights against one of boxing best tacticians. Bradley has sent out mixed signals as to what his strategy might be. Box or brawl? Marquez, a classic counter-puncher, says he’s prepared to do either. Conventional wisdom has Bradley scoring from the outside and never allowing Marquez to unleash the big punch that put Manny Pacquiao face down on the canvas in December.

Until opening bell in the HBO pay-per-view bout, Bradley’s plans are a guessing game. At least, the weigh-in wasn’t.

The pay-per-view portion of the card is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. in Nevada (9 p.m. in the East). The undercard features Orlando Salido (39-12-2, 27 KOs), one of Mexico’s archetypical tough guys, against Puerto Rican featherweight Orlando Cruz (20-2-1, 10 KOs), whose gay lifestyle has been the subject of more media attention than either Bradley or Marquez. Salido weighed 126 pounds, the featherweight limit. Cruz, who stepped onto the scale wearing rainbow-colored shorts, was a pound lighter at 125.

The televised undercard also includes amateur star Vasyl Lomachenko, a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Ukraine. Lomachenko is making his pro debut in featherweight bout scheduled for 10 rounds against Jose Ramirez (24-2-2, 15 KOs) of Mexico. Lomachenko weighed in at 125 pounds. Ramirez was at 126.5