As far as the betting public is concerned, Manny Pacquiao?s chances of beating David Diaz are just getting bigger.
From ?360 for Pacquiao and +280 for Diaz a week ago, the odds being posted on the Internet have made a tremendous jump, placing the Pinoy challenger at ?450 and the American champion at +325, meaning a $450 bet on Pacquiao will win a hundred bucks while a $100 wager on Diaz, the reigning WBC lightweight champion, gives a dividend of $325.
The odds may even go higher in favor of Pacquiao as the fight, scheduled for 12 rounds at the 12,000-seat Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, comes closer.
It?s just 24 days to go before the fight, and fight fans have started pushing the buttons, placing their bets on-line, and hoping that they get things right ? whether it?s for Pacquiao or Diaz.
Pacquiao has played the same role of heavy favorite in most of his recent fights, even when he was facing the legendary Erik Morales in three great fights in less than two years.
Since losing to Morales on points, on March 19, 2005 at the MGM, Pacquiao has won all his seven bouts, four of them by knockout.
Pacquiao was also the heavy favorite when he fought Marco Antonio Barrera last year and Juan Manuel Marquez last March.
But for the Pinoy sensation, it?s nothing to feel safe about.
?I don?t believe in the odds because anything can happen inside the ring,? said Pacquiao, now in the crucial phase of his training under Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.
For Diaz, on the other hand, the odds, especially this one favoring his opponent, only serve as a driving force.
?It motivates me to know that the people do not trust me,? he told the Mexican press recently.
