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It's unanimous, the best odds on Manny Pacquiao in his Saturday night marquee bout against golden boy Oscar de la Hoya can be found at Sportingbet.com. That online sportsbook still had odds that would pay US$180 for every US$100 bet.
"Compare that with the -130 we are now finding at the Vegas bookmakers and it becomes abundantly clear you can't find better value," explains Payton O'Brien, Senior Editor of the Gambling911.com website.
These odds were expected to be slashed over the course of the afternoon but so far remained at +180 during the overnight hours. Unfortunately, US gamblers were prohibited from betting at Sportingbet - a popular UK book. Philippine gamblers, who were betting on Manny Pacquaiao en masse, are able to place bets at Sportingbet.
"This is where a lot of the Asian gamblers will be placing their bets," O'Brien points out.
They are also offering round-per-round betting odds and various props.
The line on Pacquiao actually opened at +175, so the Sportingbet spread is even better than the opening odds.
BetUS.com had the best payout odds on Pacquiao for US gamblers as far as we could tell heading into the afternoon hours. There he would pay out US$150 for every US$100 bet. And that is still better than Vegas.
Pacquiao, a national hero in his homeland who is reckoned to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world right now will take on De la Hoya at the MGM Grand in a bout that has been dubbed the "Dream Match".
But given the disparity in the foes' natural weights, some have speculated it could turn into a nightmare of a mismatch.
Pacquiao began fighting professionally at 106 pounds, and has fought just once at lightweight -- weighing in at 134.5 pounds when he wrested the World Boxing Council lightweight crown from David Diaz on June 28.
He'll take on De la Hoya at a compromise welterweight limit of 147 pounds -- which will be the lightest De la Hoya has been since his 2001 victory over Arturo Gatti.
"I feel very comfortable at this 147-pound weight right now," said Pacquiao, who nonetheless has made it plain he plans to go back to lightweight after the fight. "I've fought larger guys before. It's not a problem."
Pacquiao's trainer, Freddie Roach, admits he was sceptical of the whole idea at first.
"I honestly never thought it was possible," he said. "But then I saw Oscar with small guys and southpaws. He has trouble with both. So I pushed for it hard.
"It's basically because of what it will do for Manny's life. It's the icing on the cake. It makes him a superstar."
Tyrone Black, Gambling911.com
