By Charles Jay
There had been so much talk about a fight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao through the years that boxing sportsbook bettors and fans of all kinds had grown tired of it. Many had given up on the two ever meeting up in the ring. Now, suddenly, it is happening. And on Saturday, we will see who can lay claim to being the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Mayweather is 47-0 with 26 knockouts. Pacquiao is 57-5-2 with 38 KO’s. There are title belts from the WBC, WBO and WBA on the line, but all that is somewhat secondary. We’re only fifteen years into it, but this is the “Fight of the Century.”
Mayweather vs Pacquiao Betting – Here are the boxing sportsbook odds that have been placed on this bout at Vietbet, keeping in mind that it is scheduled for twelve rounds:
Floyd Mayweather -200
Manny Pacquiao +170
Over 11.5 Rounds -280
Under 11.5 Rounds +240
Pacquiao has been more of a man of the world in his recent fights. He has had a load of fights in Las Vegas, but two of his last three have been in Macao, where there is a more favorable tax situation for him. Mayweather lives in Las Vegas, and that is where all of his recent fights have been. In fact, the last twelve times he has stepped into the ring, it has been in the city that NEVER sleeps.
Some boxing sportsbook bettors who are not big fans of his, however, believe he has been the beneficiary of some very favorable officiating there. One of those instances was his April 2002 bout with Jose Luis Castillo, in which he won a hard-fought unanimous decision that was hotly disputed by many in the press. And he won only a split decision against Oscar De La Hoya in May 2007, the only time on record when someone’s scorecard went against him.
But there have been some curious scorecards that have almost leaned against him as well. When he fought Canelo Alvarez, the general consensus was that he had dominated the affair. But judge CJ Ross, who had also scored the first Pacquiao-Bradley fight in favor of Bradley, had it even at 114-114. That was indeed curious, and more than mildly upsetting for some boxing bettors. But in Mayweather’s very next fight, against Marcos Maidana, he won another majority decision, and this time there was lots of sentiment among those at ringside, not to mention Vietbet customers, that he may not have deserved such a wide margin, for example, on Burt Clements’ sheet (117-111).
One thing you can always count on with “Money,” however, is that he is about as savvy as anyone who has occupied the ring for quite some time. After experiencing the highly unorthodox style of Maidana, he was able to much more easily manage it in the rematch (last September), which was also the last time he has stepped into the ring.
Those who are giving Pacquiao a very big chance at the mild upset here point to the fact that this will likely be a distance fight, and that it could come down to which of the two fighters is able to out-work the other. And Pacquiao is generally considered to be the guy with the higher work rate. Mayweather has become accustomed to winning rounds against opponents who don’t throw a lot of punches or are rather apprehensive about getting aggressive. Vietbet patrons need to be cautioned about such a thing. But Maidana didn’t have a big problem with that the first time around, and Pacquiao probably won’t either. And if Manny comes in with some abandon, Mayweather will have to be in a position where he can time him and counter effectively. Then again, that’s what he does best anyway.
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