Pacquiao vs. Vargas Fight Odds, TV Coverage, Prize Money and Predictions

His brief flirtation with retirement over, Manny Pacquiao returns to the squared circle Saturday to challenge Jessie Vargas for his WBO welterweight title. 

The main event on an otherwise stacked card seems like an oddity. Pacquiao, the returning legend, now sits as a title challenger after deciding life in politics wasn't keeping his attention enough.

Vargas, the defending champion, sounds as confident as any man who has ever stepped in the ring with Pacquiao. At the least, the fight gives him a chance to become a household name and one of the sport's next greats.

On this independent Top Rank pay-per-view from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, the promotion and two of the sport's biggest names saved one of the best events of the year for last.

Pacquiao vs. Vargas 2016

What: Fight for the WBO welterweight title

When: Saturday

Time: 9 p.m. ET

Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas

TV: Top Rank PPV

Preview

Pacquiao	Stat	Vargas
58-6-2 (38 KOs)	Career Record	27-1 (10 KOs)
431	Career Rounds	189
37	Age	27
5'5"	Height	5'10"
67"	Reach	71"
Southpaw	Stance	Orthodox

Veteran fans won't find this as much of a shocker—Pacquiao is the 7-to-1 favorite, according to Odds Shark.

It's easy to toss around hints about Pacquiao's regressions as of late. The context seems important, though—he took a loss to one of the greatest of all time, Floyd Mayweather Jr. He then turned around and outpointed Timothy Bradley while knocking him down twice in his first fight back from a shoulder injury suffered while fighting Mayweather.

Sure, Pacquiao has lost a step at 37 years old. But the distaste from the disappointing, too-late bout with Mayweather seems to color opinions about Pacquiao's ability these days.

Oddsmakers aren't having any of it, and rightfully so. He still has enough speed and heavy-handed power to score knockouts. These strengths bode well going into a bout against Vargas, who will try to position himself for a one-hit knockout.

Pacquiao will match the aggression in kind, as trainer Freddie Roach told Jenna J. of On the Ropes:

"

He’s being more explosive and being more aggressive than he has been in the past. I think he finally realizes that he can’t just tune up to win fights, he has to knock people out to be impressive and for people to want to watch him more. We had a great run back in the day and that’s what made him famous and made him a great fighter. I think he wants to be that guy again.

"

That sounds like a trainer talking up his guy, but keep in mind Pacquiao floored Bradley twice. Being unable to do so against Mayweather simply puts him on a long list of others who failed.

Vargas hasn't blinked in the face of a legend, for better or worse. He boasts advantages in height and reach, as the table above shows, but the experience factor could play a major role in how the fight concludes.

Alas, as ESPN's Dan Rafael noted, the 27-year-old orthodox fighter doesn't lack for confidence:

It's like Roach's comments above, though—what else is Vargas supposed to say?

The man has every right for confidence. He holds a strap at a young age, has only one loss on his career and last time out scored a TKO against Sadam Ali.

It helps that Vargas will bank a cool $2.8 million for his first title defense, as Top Rank promoter Bob Arum told Rappler's Ryan Songalia. In a way, a win is a win, and a loss is a win. Pacquiao, as befitting of his status, will earn a percentage-based purse on pay-per-view buys.

Money obviously falls into a secondary category for both men, but it will be interesting to see the independent pay-per-view's buyrate after Pacquiao spent most of his notable years on HBO or Showtime.

The quality of the fight and outcome will forecast how both men will draw down the line.

Prediction

John Locher/Associated Press

Vargas remains almost too much of an unknown element in this bout. 

Many claims have popped up in the buildup about his knockout power, yet he has only 10 knockouts in 27 fights and one over his last 12 outings.

This likely stems from his size and reach advantage; those two elements might allow Vargas to have a great showing, but they're not good enough for him to win. These elements and his surefire aggressive approach omit two things—speed and experience.

Vargas is far from the first to seek a knockout against Pacquiao and won't be the last. Pacquiao is too fast, and Vargas' need for the perfect setup and stance in an attempt to find the fight-ending blow will leave him too exposed early and often.

Look for Pacquiao to pick apart this approach—maybe not with ease, but he will prove he still has the speed and power to headline cards and fight the best of the best.

Prediction: Pacquiao via TKO.

Follow Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) on Twitter.