IN AN astounding twist, Filipino superstar Manny Pacquiao, who lost the first encounter, is again tabbed the favorite over Mexican icon Erik “El Terrible” Morales in their return bout on January 21 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
This was the announcement made yesterday by Wynn Las Vegas Sportsbook director John Avello, who pegged Pacquiao a 7-5 favorite over Morales despite the latter’s victory in their first bout last March 19.
Before that first encounter, Pacquiao was picked by bookmakers to beat the vastly popular Morales.
As expected, the announcement shocked Morales’ promoter Bob Arum, who was reportedly “astounded by the odds.”
Pacquiao’s promoter Gary Shaw did not disagree with the odds.
Yesterday, both Morales and Pacquiao met at a press conference organized by Top Rank in Beverly Hills, California, where it was again announced that the duo will duke it out in a 12-round super fight in the 130-lb category.
“This will make me train even harder,” opined Morales to Fightnews, after the announcement.
As of yesterday, the Tijuana banger was already ahead of Pacquiao in terms of conditioning, as Morales had immediately gone back to training following his heart-breaking loss to Zahir Raheem last Sept. 10.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, is still trying to wrap up last-minute product endorsements and other involvement in cockfight and billiard circuits.
Pacquiao is set to arrive early morning tomorrow (Friday) from California and will then fly to Cebu to immediately start serious training.
The January 21 rematch is dubbed “The Battle” and will be televised live on HBO pay-per-view.
