Philippine Sports News and Updates

The odds favoring Manny Pacquiao over Ricky Hatton went a notch higher barely four weeks left before their big match at the MGM Grand.

From -225 when the betting lines officially opened last Feb. 7, the hard-hitting Pacquiao is now a -250 favorite, meaning you need to put in $250 just to win a hundred bucks.

Hatton, despite being the champion who will defend his IBO light-welterweight crown on May 2, stood still as the +185 underdog, meaning your $100 wager wins $185.

Hatton was the same +185 underdog when the lines opened exactly two months ago.

The odds that the fight will not go over nine-and-a-half rounds are also low at -155 while the odds that the fight will end earlier than that, as predicted, are at +125.

Over the Internet, ticket prices have sky-rocketed with Floor E, Row A seats, the best in the house, being peddled and sold for as much as $8,330 and $8,950 or roughly P400,000. On the booths, they are pegged as high as $1,000 to as low as $150.

But Bob Arum of Top Rank said only less than 600 of the 16,300 tickets remain on sale, and should be “sold out” by this week.

Pacquiao’s trainer, Freddie Roach, said he’d be “very disappointed” if Hatton lasts longer than the first three rounds, a prediction that was matched by the British camp.

• Philstar
• Philippine Sports Central