LAS VEGAS ? You?d think that the guy Manny Pacquiao is fighting Saturday night is stuck to a wheelchair if the latest odds from the sportsbook is to be given enough credence.
While they are just numbers, the giant screen at the lobby of The Mandalay Bay lists Pacquiao as -230 favorite and Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez as +190, meaning that a wager of $ 230 for Pacquiao only gets a measly $ 100, while a bet of just $ 100 in favor of Marquez results to a winning of $ 190.
Pacquiao opened as -165 and Marquez as +130 in December, just days after Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotion announced they?ve reached an agreement and that the two finest 130-pounders have agreed to square off for the second time.
“Manny is such a huge favorite that it doesn?t make any sense anymore to place a bet,” said Demi Dizon, Pacquiao?s one-time billiards buddy, adding that the odds are just about the same in the Philippines where finding someone who is willing to place a bet for Pacquiao at even-steven is like finding a needle in a haystack.
The last time Pacquiao was installed the underdog was when he was tapped to challenge Marco Antonio Barrera for the first time in Nov. 2003 in San Antonio, Texas. Since humbling Barrera, Pacquiao has always been picked as the favorite almost regardless of who he fights.
The odds will turn for the worse in the coming days with the arrival of high-rollers from the Philippines.
Other proposition are as follows: Marquez by decision, 5-2; Marquez by knockout, 9-2; Pacquiao by decision, +170; Pacquiao by KO, 2-1; Draw, 12-1.
