Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao: Fight Card Highlights and Online Odds
It's forgiveable to forget a full undercard takes place before Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao enter the ring on Saturday night.
Those appearing before the main event are likely to journey through a contradiction of feelings: while it's a major achievement to be included in such a historic event, the magnitude of the final encounter will overshadow anything before it.
Pay-per-view buyers will receive two other televised encounters before Mayweather and Pacquiao begin their ring walks. A further four will be over before the live coverage begins.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Let's take a look at the full card and the odds of victory for each fighter, per Oddsshark:
| Floyd Mayweather (20-57) | Manny Pacquiao (9-4) |
| Leo Santa Cruz (1-100) | Jose Cayetano (16-1) |
| Vasyl Lomachenko (1-50) | Gamalier Rodriguez (17-1) |
| Jesse Hart (1-10) | Mike Jimenez (15-2) |
| Christopher Pearson* | Said El Harrak* |
| Andrew Tabiti* | Anthony Caputo Smith* |
| Brad Solomon* | Adrian Granados* |
The full undercard lineup is provided by BoxingNews24. *No odds provided.
Fight Card Highlights
Leo Santa Cruz vs. Jose Cayetano
Mayweather isn't the only unbeaten fighter to enter the MGM Grand on May 2. WBC super bantamweight champion Leo Santa Cruz stands at 29-0-1 ahead of his non-title showdown with Jose Cayetano (17-3). As noted above, the bookmakers can only see one result in this particular bout.
Santa Cruz is an exciting fighter, and perhaps vitally, he is used to the grand stage. Saturday's fight will be his fourth consecutive battle at the MGM Grand, a venue in which he loves to dominate.
The bantamweight division is struggling to find competitors to seriously challenge Santa Cruz right now, Cristian Mijares, Manuel Roman and Jesus Ruiz have all been downed in Vegas. Cayetano is currently working through a mixed run of form, winning two and losing two of his last four, and is undertaking the biggest challenge of his career so far against Santa Cruz.
The underdog has never fought outside of his native Mexico, so he'll be looking to make a lasting impression. His recent loss to Enrique Bernache suggests Santa Cruz is going to be well out of his ability range, but the onlooking punters may fancy a flutter on what would be a major upset.
Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Gamalier Rodriguez
WBO featherweight champion Vasyl Lomachenko may face a surprising challenge against Gamalier Rodriguez. However, the Ukrainian amateur boxing legend (whose professional record stands at 3-1) is still the massive favourite to topple the Puerto Rican (25-2-3).
Lomachenko is built to last, highlighted during his title win over Gary Russell Jr. in 2012. Aside from his knockout victory against Jose Ramirez in 2013, the 27-year-old has heard the final bell on every other occasion he's stepped into the professional ring.
Rodriguez's career has been limited to 10-round fights, so the champion's plan may be to stay competitive and come on strong at the end. FightNights.com believes a much more enticing undercard could have been produced:
David Rodela was the last man to overcome Rodriguez in 2009. Since then he's worked his way into a decent position with impressive wins over Martin Cardona, Orlando Cruz and Alicio Castaneda, all men who aren't used to losing.
Rodriguez will be eager to entertain in front of a huge audience and has the quality to continue his 17-fight win streak.
Both of these televised fights appear to be heavily stacked in favour of the belt holder. In truth, they are destined to be quickly forgotten when Mayweather and Pacquiao lace up their gloves.
All stats in this article are provided by BoxRec.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
