Current Betting Odds – On Saturday, June 9, 2012, Manny Pacquiao will attempt to defend his WBO Welterweight Title against Timothy Bradley live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pacquiao is one of the most prolific champions in the history of the sport, but Bradley is undefeated in his professional career and, despite his lack of public profile, a lock on the Top 10 pound-for-pound list. Obviously, the fight the public has been clamoring for is the long-awaited Pacquiao vs. Mayweather fight, but public perception of Pacquiao’s showdown with Bradley is quite skewed. Bradley may not be the box office draw that Pacquiao or Mayweather are, but he is a very skilled fighter coming off a big win against a former champion in Joel Casamayor. Pacquiao is coming off one of his worst performances of the last decade, a controversial decision over Juan Manuel Marquez that the vast majority of observers feel like he should have lost, and looks beatable for the first time in recent memory, so this is a very compelling fight that is flying somewhat under the radar.
Timothy Bradley is an extremely skilled and dangerous fighter who has had a successful career moving back and forth between Light Welterweight and Welterweight. Unbeaten as a professional, Bradley held both the WBC and WBO Light Welterweight titles at the same time before moving up to Welterweight to demolish a tough opponent in the form of Luis Abrego. This is Bradley’s first shot at Welterweight gold, but he is a top competitor with great power and speed. The only question mark for Bradley is how well his chin will be able to hold up against the notorious power punching Pacquiao brings to the table. In a 2009 title unification bout against Kendall Holt, Bradley was dropped twice despite outboxing Holt for the majority of the fight and earning the decision victory. Against Pacquiao that could prove problematic, because it seems that no matter how many times Pacquiao moves up in weight, his punching power always seems to translate and remain devastating. Bradley has the quickness and the technique to hang with Pacquiao, especially if Pacquiao comes into this fight like he did the Marquez fight, but he is going to have to fight carefully to protect his chin.
Manny “Pac Man” Pacquiao is, with the possible exception of Floyd Mayweather Jr., the most accomplished boxer on the face of the planet and one of the all-time greats in the history of the sport. Known for his speed, footwork, and outrageous punching power, Pacquiao has continually moved up in weight and continually dominated. In his last fight, though, he looked sluggish and showed a lot of difficulty dealing with the precise counter-punching style Marquez threw at him. Despite his continued success, Pacquiao has been surrounded by controversy for years, with insiders and observers positing that his music, film and political careers are distracting him from training properly. In addition, Pacquiao’s refusal to change up his training routines have caused concern in some corners, and rumors that he has debilitating calf issues have popped up repeatedly. Nevertheless, underestimating one of the greatest fighters of all time is never the course of prudence, and Pacquiao has become a legend by continually defying expectations and dominating weight classes far above where anyone ever thought he could enjoy success. At this point, Pacquiao doesn’t have any surprises left. Everyone knows what you get when you watch a Pacquiao fight, and that is an aggressive power-punching style coupled with speed and footwork far beyond what is normal.
At this point, Pacquiao has proven his dominance so many times in so many weight classes that I would find it impossible to pick against him unless the opponent was Floyd Mayweather Jr. That said, the money lines on this fight seem hugely out of sync with reality. At -450, I can’t imagine betting on an aging Pacquiao who is coming off one of the worst performances of his career and has a crowded personal and professional life that has to take away from the focus he is able to put on training. In addition, Bradley lacks the same name recognition as a Marquez or a Mayweather, which could easily translate into Pacquiao taking this opponent less seriously than others. Bradley is being severely underrated at a whopping +325, and even though it is likely that Pacquiao will confound him with his southpaw style and unorthodox angles, if Manny comes into this fight without sufficient focus or training, or if his power is depleted because of the calf problems that seem to have plagued him for the last three or four years, Bradley has the speed and the tools to thwart Pacquiao’s offense in much the same way Marquez did. The only problem I see with a bet on Bradley is that he is not one of the sport’s foremost knockout artists, and as the Marquez fight showed, betting on judges to score a fight against Pacquiao might not be the wisest course of action. In the end, Pacquiao probably takes this fight, but a bet on him at these odds is just too risky. A bet on Bradley could pay big dividends, but it rests on the hopes that judges will not be dazzled by Pacquiao’s profile and name value, which is a long shot at best.
Manny Pacquiao vs. Tim Bradley
Bovada.Iv Odds
- Pacquiao (-450)
- Bradley (+325)
- Over 9.5 Rounds (-280)
- Under 9.5 Rounds (+190)
Betonline.com Odds
- Pacquiao (-450)
- Bradley (+350)
- Over 9.5 Rounds (-240)
- Under 9.5 Rounds (+190)
