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Las Vegas - Shane Mosley weighed in one pound heavier than fellow American Floyd Mayweather after the two fighters were welcomed with deafening cheers by the fans on the eve of Saturday's non-title welterweight bout.
WBA welterweight champion Mosley, (46-5, 39 knockouts), tipped the scales at the class limit of 147 pounds (67kg) in front of a boisterous crowd of around 1 500 at the MGM Grand Hotel's Garden Arena.
Mayweather, 40-0 (25 KOs) and a 1/4 favourite to maintain his unbeaten professional record, registered 146 pounds (66kg) after being loudly booed by Mosley's supporters.
Mosley, who has not fought since a ninth-round TKO upset of feared Mexican slugger Antonio Margarito in January 2009, also holds a slight advantage over his opponent when it comes to the tale of the tape.
While the 5-foot-9 Californian has a reach of 74 inches, the 5-foot-8 Mayweather will have to make do with 72. Both, however, are renowned for their speed, work rate and all-round boxing skills.
The atmosphere in the arena, initially subdued, became electric as the two fighters made their way on to a raised stage for Friday's televised weigh-in where former world champions Thomas Hearns, Joe Calzaghe and Juan Manuel Marquez were among those attending.
Mosley, wearing a white tracksuit, was all smiles when he arrived and the 38-year-old blew kisses to the crowd after he stepped off the scales.
"I am excited, I'm ready to go," Mosley said in an on-stage interview. "It's going to be a great fight. Me and Mayweather are going to get it on.
"The key to the fight is my speed and power. I have always had power, even when I was a lightweight."
Flamboyant showman Mayweather, clad in white boxing shorts and a black hooded tracksuit top, flashed the occasional grin while resorting to his trademark strutting and posturing around the stage.
As the 33-year-old Las Vegas resident stepped up to the scales, the crowd erupted in a mix of cheers and boos with the Mosley fans slightly louder than Mayweather's backers.
"I had a great (training) camp and I put in a lot of work. I am ready for the fight," said Mayweather who outclassed Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez in his most recent bout in September after a 21-month retirement.
"The key is to be smart. I have to do what I have always done, establish the jab and fight a smart fight. It could end in a knockout. If he comes in, it could end in a knockout."
Mayweather, who is boxing's biggest pay-per-view drawcard, is guaranteed to make $22.5 million from the fight while Mosley will earn $7 million.
