IT?S Filipino icon Manny Pacquiao over Mexican American idol De La Hoya, according to boxing fans. But gamblers think it?s Oscar over Manny by at least 2-1.
This contrasting perception between diehard fans and hardnosed bettors is getting to be an interesting sidelight of the Dec. 6 super fight between Pacquiao and De La Hoya before the two boxing superstars even start a seven-city road show to promote this year?s biggest fight starting next week.
Initial betting lines with leading online bookmakers Bodog, BetUS.com and BettingExpress.com continue to show De La Hoya a solid 2.6-1 favorite against his smaller Filipino opponent, who has not fought as an underdog in more than three years.
In contrast, two online surveys show Pacquiao being tipped to win by ratio of 60-40, with an even bigger ratio?almost 2-1?predicting the Filipino pound-for-pound king winning by knockout.
Pacquiao and De La Hoya have agreed to fight at 147 pounds, use eight-pound gloves and an undisclosed split of revenues in what is considered as the biggest match this year that is projected to earn at least $100 million in gate and pay-per-view receipts.
Based on early betting odds, a $260 wager on De La Hoya wins $100, while a $100 bet on Pacquiao earns $200. These odds could change, however, depending on the actual flow of money in the gaming sites.
Surprisingly, two ongoing online surveys showed majority of respondents predicting a victory by Pacquiao, who is going up two weight classes from lightweight (135lbs) to fight De La Hoya at welterweight (147lbs).
Prominent boxing scribe John Chavez of Boxingconfidential.com cautioned people not to be misled by the diverging perceptions of boxing fans and those who bet on boxing matches.
He said fans go by their personal preferences or even biases while gamblers tend to be more analytical in their choices because they are actually risking losing money if they bet on the wrong guy.
All factors considered?weight and size disparity, fight record and age?Chavez rated Pacquiao?s chances at 20 percent, stressing that ?Oscar can still fight and be competitive with anybody at 147 pounds.?
According to a poll by Boxinginsider.com, a popular boxing web site, 77 percent of respondents saw Pacquiao winning, as against 16 percent who predicted a De La Hoya victory. One percent said it would be draw, while 6 percent said the fight was a ?farce?.
Fifty-five percent of respondents said Pacquiao would win by knockout compared to just 11 percent who believed De La Hoya would stop the Filipino icon. A total of 1,299 responded to the poll.
Twenty-two percent predicted Pacquiao winning by decision as against 5 percent who projected De La Hoya winning through the distance.
Another poll by Yahoo Sports also showed majority of the 60,113 respondents as of this writing choosing Pacquiao, the current World Boxing Council lightweight champ, over De La Hoya, a 10-time world champion in six different weight classes.
Yahoo is the world?s most visited Internet home page.
Forty-two percent of the Yahoo survey respondents saw Manny winning by knockout, and another 20 percent who predicted him winning by decision.
Twenty-three percent predicted De La Hoya knocking out Pacquiao and 15 percent who thought the Mexican American winning by decision.
