Pacquiao or De La Hoya? Bets Even on Eve of Colossal Fight

Previously called a circus, Sunday’s titanic clash in Las Vegas , Nevada between Manny Pacquiao and Oscar de la Hoya has become serious with odds nearly even on the winning chances of both boxing superstars on the eve of the bout.

Reports from Las Vegas said De la Hoya’s winning odds continued to slide, with the Mexican-American pugilist listing as a mere minus-165 favorite to beat the Filipino boxing hero on the eve of their 12-round welterweight super bout, dubbed “The Dream Match,” arguably the biggest boxing event in the world this century.

Pacquiao was listed as a plus-135 underdog.

That means a bet of $1.65 on De la Hoya will enable the bettor to win $1 if The Golden Boy wins. On the other hand, a bet of $1 on Pacquiao will win $1.35 for the bettor.

As such, De la Hoya and Pacquiao virtually have the same winning odds.

However, many boxing analysts continued to believe that De la Hoya stands a better chance of winning the bout.

Among others, World Boxing Council president Jose Sulaiman, former world champion Roger Mayweather, and renowned trainer Angelo Dundee believe that De la Hoya will make mincemeat of Pacquiao when they begin their nontitle megabuck bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Navada.

Dundee belitted Pacquiao’s alleged speed advantage, saying that the De la Hoya camp has found the “perfect style” for the smaller but faster Filipino. “We found out stuff he can do against Pacquiao,” Dundee was quoted as saying. “Exactly what we did, that’s our business, and you’ll see on Saturday night.”

Filipino boxing analysts offered mixed views on how the fight will end. Veteran sportswriter Al Mendoza said the odds are heavily stacked against Pacquiao who at 5’ 6” is more than four inches smaller than De la Hoya who stands 5’ 10-1/2.”

Mendoza said the Filipino boxer known as “Pacman” should knock out the world renowned “Golden Boy” or else the latter will beat him by points at the end of their fight.

But he said Pacquiao faces huge obstacles in his bid to defeat De la Hoya, a six-division world boxing champion. “It would be hard to knock out De la Hoya because he’s tall and skillful,” he said. “Pacquiao is clearly the underdog. De la Hoya has the advantage in both size and reach.”

Two other sports commentators concurred that the first five rounds of the fight would be for De la Hoya. Dennis Principe and Ronnie Nathanielsz said they expect the first five rounds to go to De la Hoya.

However, should Pacquiao manage to evade and parry most of De la Hoya’s flurry of punches and remain standing after the fifth round, the Filipino pugilist will stand a good chance of flooring De la Hoya, the two analysts said.

“Pacquiao will have a good chance in the later rounds when De la Hoya gets weaker,” Principe said.

Nathanielsz predicted, however, that Pacquiao will be declared winner. “The bout will last for 12 rounds and Manny will win on points,” the veteran sports analyst said.

Nathanielsz said Pacquiao can easily win the fight with his improved boxing skills, speed and jabs. “Pacquiao moves fast, all angles. De la Hoya will get dizzy,” he said.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, shared Nathanielz’s views. He said De la Hoya, 39-5 (30 KOs ), would find it hard to cope with Pacquiao’s fast-paced, aggressive style. “Manny Pacquiao’s one of those fighters who’s very hard to read,” he said. “He doesn’t do usual things. He throws punches from odd angles, you don’t know where he’s coming from.

“You don’t know what he’s going to next, because he doesn’t know either.”