WASHINGTON, D.C.: Filipino boxing icon Manny Pacquiao has emerged a 2-1 betting favorite to beat world junior welterweight champion Ricky Hatton of the United Kingdom in their May 2 super fight in Las Vegas.
In the world?s gaming capital of Las Vegas and in the United Kingdom, where Hatton enjoys solid following among British boxing fans, the odds are all the same: Pacquiao is the clear favorite.
Early betting lines at the Las Vegas Hilton sports book showed Pacquiao a minus 215 betting favorite, which means a $2.15 bet on the Filipino icon wins $1.
The price on Hatton opened at plus 185, meaning $1 netting $1.85 at the Hilton.
In the round proposition, the odd is at minus 140 that the scheduled 12-rounder will last at least until the 1:30 mark of the 10th round. It?s plus 120 the fight will end before 1:30 of Round 10.
At the Pinnacle Sports Book and Casino, the odds are almost the same. A $2.11 bet on Pacquiao wins a dollar, while a dollar bet on Hatton nets $1.91
In terms of how many rounds the fight will go, the betting is minus 135 that the fight will last 9.5 rounds. And it?s plus 125 the fight will end before the middle of the ninth round.
In Hatton?s turf in Britain, the betting lines are surprisingly even slightly higher in Pacquiao?s favor, according to the BestBetting.com gaming website.
Four of the seven gaming firms?Bet Direct, Bet Fred, Stan James and Victor Chandler?have Pacquiao the 9-4 favorite or 2.25 pound sterling winning a pound. It?s 5-2 odds in favor Pacquiao in the three other betting firms like BluesQ, Paddy Power and Tote Sport.
The odds for Hatton were either 8-13 or 4-7, not much different from the trends in Las Vegas.
Pacquiao (48-3-2, 36 by knockouts), a world champion in four different weight divisions, is coming off a dominant eighth round technical knockout win over Oscar de la Hoya on December 6.
Hatton (45-1, 32 knockouts), of Manchester, England, stopped Paulie Malignaggi in November to successfully defend his International Boxing Organization (IBO) junior welterweight title.
The winner of the Hatton-Pacquiao fight is expected to square off with former pound-for-pound (p4p) king Floyd Mayweather Jr., the only man to defeat Hatton.
Pacquiao is presently The Ring?s p4p king while Hatton is ranked 10th in that elite list.
