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Odds TOO MUCH in favor of Pacquiao?
Manny Pacquiao paused for a moment — as if it was news to him — when told about the betting odds for his June 28 showdown with David Diaz.
"Really?" Pacquiao said from his apartment in Los Angeles upon learning that oddsmakers have installed him as a -365 favorite to knock the World Boxing Council lightweight crown off Diaz’s head at Mandalay Bay.
Diaz, in contrast, is listed as +285, meaning a $ 100 bet on the Chicago native, wins $ 285, while somebody wishing for a Pacquiao victory will have to shell out $ 365 for him to win $ 100.
Pacquiao said he is no longer tickled pink by the mention of fight odds, saying those are just numbers and that the 32-year-old Diaz is a livewire opponent.
"That doesn’t concern me anymore because my concentration is on my training," said Pacquiao, who has been training under Freddie Roach at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood since May 13.
Boxing promoter Wakee Salud, a trusted ally of Pacquiao, was not at all surprised by the pendulum swinging on the 29-year-old Pacquiao's favor even if he is making his debut at 135 lbs.
"Manny’s just too good to be listed as an underdog and boxing people believe Diaz’s aggressive style is tailor-made for him that’s why he is an overwhelming favorite," said Salud from Cebu.
Salud said that the odds will likely remain like that or even go up in the final days leading to the bout and that the current trend is also the same in the Philippines.
The last time Pacquiao was listed as the underdog was in the rematch with Erik Morales in January 2006 and prior to that, the last time he was not the betting favorite was in Nov. 2003 when he squared off and shamed Marco Antonio Barrera.
Pacquiao was a complete unknown when he made his US debut in June 2001 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
Rod Nazario, then Pacquiao’s business manager, recalled that when he went to the sportsbook to place a bet on Pacquiao, who was fighting Lehlo Ledwaba for the South African’s International Boxing Federation superbantam throne, he was told there was no betting line that was put up for that particular bout.
"Not only because nobody knew who Manny was at that time but Manny was up against an established champion," said Nazario, who served as Pacquiao’s father-figure from 1995 until 2005.
"I was told by the American boxing fans that Manny’s just going to get his ass kicked," said Nazario.
Pacquiao went on to capture the fancy of the American fight fans by inflicting Ledwaba a savage sixth-round knockout loss.
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