Barely three days before fight night, Filipino boxing stars Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire are still favored to win over their Mexican opponents as they put finishing touches on their training for their title fights Saturday night in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Pacquiao is set to face reigning WBO welterweight champion Jessie Vargas, whose lone career loss was against former Pacquiao foe Timothy Bradley while Donaire will face mandatory challenger Jessie Magadaleno, who is unbeaten in his pro career. Despite his age (38 on Dec. 17), Pacquaio has been the early favorite (10-1) to win since the fight announcement by promoter Bob Arum last September. The odds barely changed three days before fight night at 9-1. Pacquiao is coming off a unanimous decision win over Timothy Bradley in their third fight at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada last May 9 while Vargas is fresh off a TKO win over Sadam Ali on March 5 at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C. to bag the WBO welterweight title. Early fight predictions favoring Pacquiao, point to his skill and experience as his advantage over Vargas, who only has 28 professional fights in his favor against Pacquiao’s 66 fights since turning pro 21 years ago. Vargas is predicting a knockout win over Pacquiao saying his youth, power and superior height and reach will be big factors in his victory. “If Manny thought that Floyd was strong, I can only imagine what he thinks when I land a clean shot to the chin,” said Vargas, who is now working with a new trainer. For his part, Pacquiao said he will deliver a good fight for the fans to enjoy but refused to predict a knockout win saying only that he will do his best. He is confident though that he will win over Vargas on Saturday night. Meanwhile, Donaire, who is slightly favored to win over Magdaleno downplayed Magdaleno’s credential saying his mandatory challenger is untested despite his unbeaten record.
