Mayweather vs. Pacquiao Odds: Latest Fight Lines for Money vs. Pac-Man
The wait for the megafight between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao is almost over, and according to the latest fight lines for Saturday's massive event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, fans should be in for a very close fight.
Odds Shark currently has Money (-210) as a slight favourite, but only just. Pac-Man (+170) is the type of boxer people don't like to bet against, even after losses against Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez, and his utter dominance of Chris Algieri the last time he was in the ring shows he's back to his old self.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Here are the latest odds for the superfight, courtesy of Odds Shark:
| Mayweather Win (KO, TKO, DQ) | +600 | 6/1 |
| Mayweather Win (Decision) | -130 | 77/100 |
| Pacquiao Win (KO, TKO, DQ) | +400 | 4/1 |
| Pacquiao Win (Decision) | +375 | 15/4 |
| Draw | +1000 | 10/1 |
| 1 | 33/1 | 33/1 |
| 2 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| 3 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| 4 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| 5 | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| 6 | 40/1 | 50/1 |
| 7 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| 8 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| 9 | 40/1 | 40/1 |
| 10 | 40/1 | 33/1 |
| 11 | 40/1 | 33/1 |
| 12 | 50/1 | 33/1 |
Fans and the media can sometimes get carried away in the hype surrounding major boxing matches, but Saturday's contest truly deserves the label of "megafight." Seemingly everyone has been weighing in with their ideas and predictions for the fight, and that includes people from the boxing world as well as others.
Even rappers like Jadakiss can't seem to help themselves:
Jadakiss actually gets his prediction quite spot on. Pacquiao's hand speed presents a challenge unlike anything Mayweather has ever seen, and while he enters the fight as the odds-on favourite, things won't come easy against the Filipino slugger.
Mayweather's reputation as a fantastic defensive fighter has long been established, but the 38-year-old is no longer the untouchable champion he was five years ago. CompuBox's Bob Canobbio explained as such:
Obviously, we shouldn't take anything away from Money and his abilities. He's still undefeated, and he's still the pound-for-pound king. But when people like Jadakiss talk about Pacquiao's declining strength, they seem to forget Mayweather is showing just as many signs of ageing.
Pacquiao was once one of the most feared power-punchers in the sport, but he hasn't won by stoppage in six years. He managed to down Algieri six times in their bout in 2014 but couldn't put the American away before the final bell.
As shared by RingTV.com's Douglas Fischer, his trainer Freddie Roach even expects Mayweather to actively pursue a stoppage of his own, which would be a sign he's not too concerned with Pac-Man's power:
But Pacquiao's lack of recent knockouts may have more to do with his approach to boxing, rather than a sudden loss of power. When Marquez put him on the canvas in their fourth meeting, he may have decided to become slightly more conservative, and rely more on his otherworldly hand speed.
That hand speed may be the difference. Mayweather has never been a volume puncher, relying on his own speed, excellent defence and reach to score easy points and win fights on the cards.
He's been hit in the past, but usually, he takes one punch, and one punch only. His ability to counter and slip tricky situations means combinations are usually limited to the first punch. Things could be different with Pacquiao; Mike Tyson took to Youtube to highlight his incredible hand speed:
Pac-Man is just as quick as Mayweather, and he throws more combinations than arguably any fighter in the sport. If there's one man in boxing capable of landing combinations, and not just single shots on Mayweather, it's him. Whether it will happen or not is something we won't find out until Saturday, but if it does, Money will lose a massive advantage on the cards.
One thing is clear: Both fighters know what's at stake on Saturday, and neither can afford to lose. Mayweather, one of the best showmen in all of sports, has nearly abandoned all trash-talking and brashness in favour of easy one-liners and a whole lot of nothing, via Showtime Sports:
He may be focused, or just downright nervous, but he certainly looks more in tune than he has in years. And so does Pacquiao, whose legacy would be set if he were the one to finally hand Money his first career loss as a professional.
The wait is almost over. After years and years of speculation, these two will finally touch gloves on Saturday. And if the betting lines are anything to go on, it should be one amazing spectacle.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
