We still don’t know whether we’ll get the dream fight of Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr. next year, but we do know this: Mayweather is favored to win the fight, but bettors are feeling confident about Pacquiao.
The online sports book Bodog.com is already taking bets on the fight (bets that will only become valid if they actually fight in 2010), and Bodog decided to set the opening odds at -170 for Mayweather, signaling that Mayweather’s undefeated record (not to mention his size advantage) would make him the expected winner if the two best pound-for-pound boxers in the world meet in the ring.
But Bodog has already had to adjust its odds twice, because the early money came in for Pacquiao. The odds moved very quickly from -170 to -160, and they’re now at -155 for Mayweather, with Pacquiao having gone from +130 to +125.
Bodog is also taking over-under bets on the number of rounds the fight will go. Over 11.5 rounds is set as a -175 favorite, with under 11.5 returning +135.
So there are a number of bettors who were impressed enough by Pacquiao’s performance Saturday night against Miguel Cotto that they’re eager to put money on Pacquiao to beat Mayweather, should that fight happen.
