Now that we’ve gotten a chance to take a few breaths and settle down from the whirlwind coverage of the Floyd Mayweather Jr. – Manny Pacquiao fight, it’s time go finally go back to what we do best: taking a look at the betting market surrounding the fight.
It’s already been established that Mayweather is the favorite leading up to the fight, even though the action so far has been heavy on the Filipino southpaw. The one-sided bets favoring Pacquiao have even forced some sportsbooks to drop his odds and raise Mayweather’s own odds. This time, though, we’re going to dive into the first round – no pun intended – of prop bets that have been released.
Usually, the more kooky prop bets are released closer to the fight, but for now, round betting and fight outcome are what’s already being offered.
The first prop is a pretty straight-forward, asking the question on whether the fight will go the distance or not. A bet on the fight going all 12 rounds is the favorite at 1/3 odds while a bet on a stoppage is a short underdog at 23/10. There’s not a lot of surprise here because most pundits believe that the fight will go to decision, hence the heavy favorite odds on that happening.
If you want something that’s a little less predictable, you can opt to for the “Fight Outcome” prop. As is always the case, sportsbooks are offering five choices. The favorite in this instance is a decision win for Mayweather, which is currently priced at 10/13, the only choice that’s under even odds.
Fans of the PacMan will be happy to know that sportsbooks believe that there’s a more likely chance of him scoring a decision (4/1) or a stoppage/disqualification (4/1) over a Mayweather stoppage (5/1). If somebody is willing to try to punch the moon, a bet on the fight ending on a draw or a technical draw at 16/1 odds is the way to go.
Finally, we have the most unpredictable prop bet of them all: round betting. It’s no surprise that the odds on these prop are huge, ranging from 33/1 to 50/1 for both fighters. Since both Mayweather and Pacquiao haven’t had any wins that didn’t go the distance in their past few fights, it’s a long-shot to think that a stoppage is going to happen in this game.
Then again, you never know with boxing. One clean punch could end the fight at a moment’s notice, and for fight fans to feel justified about waiting this long for this fight to be made.
Odds courtesy of Bodog
