Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao: Betting Tips, Latest Odds and Prediction
Floyd Mayweather will enter the ring as slight favourite when he takes on Manny Pacquiao in the long-awaited superfight on May 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, according to OddsShark.
The pound-for-pound king is still undefeated at the age of 38 but will be facing arguably his biggest challenge yet in a welterweight battle fans have been dying to see for years. Here are the latest odds surrounding the superfight:
| Mayweather Win (KO, TKO, DQ) | +550 | 11/2 |
| Mayweather Win (Decision) | -140 | 5/7 |
| Pacquiao Win (KO, TKO, DQ) | +400 | 4/1 |
| Pacquiao Win (Decision) | +375 | 15/4 |
| Draw | +1400 | 14/1 |
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Breaking Down The Fighters
Floyd Mayweather
Record: 47-0, 26 KO
Age: 38
Money Mayweather―like his opponent on Saturday―hardly needs an introduction. Undefeated after 47 bouts, he's one of the biggest stars the sport has seen in the past two decades, a crown he has to share with but one man―Pacquiao himself.
Mayweather is a defensive genius, a superb tactician with excellent hand speed and an uncanny ability to avoid getting hit, even in close quarters. His shoulder-roll defence has taken on legendary proportions in the past decade, and even greats like Sugar Ray Leonard have nothing but respect for his ability, per the Wall Street Journal:
If years of toiling in the ring are starting to take their toll, we've yet to see it. Mayweather may be slightly less mobile than he was during his prime, but his head movement is still top notch.
Areas for concern: punch count, mobility.
Bleacher Report's Tom Weir wrote an excellent article on the fight that jump-started Mayweather's career, a decision win over Oscar De La Hoya. He noticed Mayweather's incredible advantage in terms of accuracy, as De La Hoya threw far more punches yet landed far fewer.
Over the years, accuracy has become a calling card for Mayweather, but his tendency to shy away from combinations doesn't match well with Pacquiao's ability to throw combinations of up to seven or eight punches. Pac-Man's hand speed means some of those punches will land, and that will have an effect on the cards.
Likewise, Mayweather tends to plant his feet and rely on the shoulder-roll and his head movement to make opponents look silly. Against the flurries Pacquiao is expected to throw, that's a dangerous strategy.
Manny Pacquiao
Record: 57-5-2, 38 KO
Age: 36
Pacquiao may no longer be the whirlwind that once terrorised opponents up and down the ring, but he's still a good fighter, even at the age of 36. There's a reason plenty of people in boxing believe he'll be the one to finally hand Mayweather his first loss. De La Hoya is among them, per Sky Sports:
Hand speed and relentless energy make for an incredibly difficult fighter to gauge. Pacquiao attacks from all angles, and he only knows one speed: full throttle. He has the stamina to overwhelm you in the opening round and still be throwing a similar amount of punches 11 rounds later.
He's also supremely confident in his own ability, as evidenced by his latest Foot Locker commercial, via MailOnline Sport. Most fighters wouldn't want anything interfering with their preparations ahead of a fight like this, but Pacquiao isn't like most fighters:
Areas for concern: reach, knockout power.
Mayweather holds a slight advantage in terms of height and, per Bleacher Report's Kelsey McCarson, a significant advantage as far as reach goes. For a skilled counterpuncher like Mayweather, such an advantage can be huge.
It means Pacquiao will have to connect with the first punch of his combination to stun his opponent and break down his defences, and while the Filipino slugger has found much success doing just that in the past, none of his opponents had the defensive savvy Mayweather brings to the table.
Pacquiao will land power shots in the fight, but whether those punches will do enough damage is a question that won't be answered until the fight actually starts. Pac-Man hasn't won a fight by stoppage in years, and Mayweather has one of the best chins in the business.
Betting Tips, Prediction
To say fans are excited about this fight would be the understatement of the year, as shared by Bleacher Report, and the amount of people betting on the bout will likely reflect that:
Looking at OddsShark, it's pretty clear most expect the fight to go the distance, and given the fact neither fighter has been much of a knockout artist in the past few years, it's a safe assumption.
Mayweather remains the favourite to win the bout, and if he does, a stoppage is highly unlikely. Surprisingly enough, Pacquiao is favoured to win big in the championship rounds, while Mayweather has the advantage in Rounds 2 and 5.
Pacquiao has been waiting for this fight for years―it's easy to see him starting out hot before Mayweather adjusts and takes over in the middle of the fight. Punters shouldn't be afraid of going against the grain, handing Pacquiao Round 2 and Mayweather a couple of rounds later in the fight.
As for the winner of this fight, it's hard to look past Mayweather's undefeated record. Pacquiao has taken far more punches throughout his career, and while the fight looks like it will be a very close one, Mayweather remains the safer pick.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
