MANILA, Philippines?What started out as a celebrated mismatch is starting to get pretty even?at least according to the odds. And the overwhelming support from the most unlikely place?Mexico?may have something to do with that.
Betting lines have started showing Manny Pacquiao?s improving chances against Oscar De La Hoya in their Dec. 6 Dream Match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with the odds between the two fighters slowly narrowing.
In betting terms, Pacquiao is hovering between the plus 155 and plus 185 underdog level based on popular Vegas sites sportbet.com, betus.com and sportsbetting.com as more and more people are putting their money on the Filipino ring sensation.
A lot of those willing to wager on Pacquiao could be Mexicans, who, according to a boxing writer for www.philboxing.com, are warming up to the Filipino more than they are to De La Hoya, who is of Latino descent.
?One would think that De La Hoya would be the overwhelming favorite as he is (of) Mexican-American (descent),? wrote Hesiquio Alejandro Balderas Olivio. ?But the fact is Pacquiao is their choice because he is the underdog. And he has a pleasant Mexican style and the bravado of Mexican fighters.?
Pacquiao?s unofficial tag as the ?Mexican Assassin? apparently did not hurt his popularity as Olivio conducted a poll and was ?was amazed to see that those from my area favor Pacquiao by 72 percent.?
De La Hoya, who opened up as an overwhelming favorite, currently has betting lines teetering between the minus 205 to minus 250 mark.
In layman?s terms, to get a $100 profit on the Golden Boy, one has to wager anywhere between $205 and $250. On the other hand a $100 bet on the Pacman will win anywhere between $155 and $185.
To put things in perspective, when Pacquiao first went up in weight to fight then World Boxing Council lightweight champion David Diaz, whom he knocked out in the ninth round, he went in a minus 550 favorite and Diaz a plus 420 underdog.
Sportsinteraction.com translated the betting lines as De La Hoya currently is a 2-1 favorite to win with still two months to go before the fight. Some Vegas bouts have had bigger odds tilted to the favorite on fight night.
When Juan Manuel Marquez stepped into the ring to eventually defeat Joel Casamayor, he was a 3-1 favorite.
