Early Odds on the May 2 Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Championship Fight
The early odds for the Floyd Mayweather/Manny Pacquiao fight on May 2 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas has “Money” Mayweather the early favorite. Vegas Insider posted the numbers, which had Floyd Mayweather as a -295 favorite and Manny Pacquiao as a +230 underdog.
For those not familiar with moneyline odds, the number indicates how much you must wager to win a baseline $100. The minus indicates the favorite, so you would have to wager $295 on Mayweather in order to win $100. The plus number indicates the underdog, because you would only have to wager $100 to win $230, by betting on Pac-Man.
Moneyline Odds Favor Mayweather
It’s a natural enough moneyline. Mayweather is 47-0 and has easily defeated most of his opponents, which includes a who’s who of top fighters: Oscar De La Hoya, Canello Alvarez, Diego Corrales, Jose Louis Castillo, Arturo Gatti, Zab Judah, Ricky Hatton, Juan Manuel Marquez, Sugar Shane Mosely, and Miguel Cotto. Pacquiao has fought many of the same fighters, but has often required more (seeming) effort to win. His record is 57-5-2.
But styles make fights. Fans of Pacquiao say the Mexicutioner has the handspeed and aggression to press Mayweather throughout the fight, and to test his defenses like few other fighters have. They point out that Mayweather has picked his fights wisely, often facing big name fighters at the end of their careers, when their skills were faded. In fact, many think that’s exactly the reason this fight is taking place in 2015, instead of when it should have happened in 2009, when both fighters were in their primes.
Bout Brewing Since 2009
No doubt, it’s a smart business decision. The anticipation has built, so the profits should be more than they would have been in 2009. Throughout the past six years, the message boards on sports news websites have been filled with comments from both fanbases, debating on which boxer is best and which fighter is to blame for the long delays in scheduling such a fight.
Fighter of the Decade
It says a lot about Manny Pacquiao that Floyd Mayweather would be so dominant in the years 2000-2009, yet the unbeaten fighter would lose the title “Fighter of the Decade” to Pac-Man. While Mayweather is known for his dominance and his unbeaten record, Pac-Man is known for his handspeed, his offensive aggression, and his high-action fights. Pacquiao won “The Ring” Fight of the Year in 2006, 2008, and 2009. He won ESPYs for Best Fighter in 2009 and 2011.
Over the same stretch of time, the Philippines native has been compared to Mayweather, whom many believe is the Best Fighter Ever. Most debates over the past 10 years have been which man is the best pound-for-pound boxer. Mayweather is the greatest defensive fighter of his generation, while Pacquiao is the greatest offensive fighter. Yet despite his spotless record, the 47-0 Mayweather’s Hall of Fame career would not be complete without a showdown with Pac-Man. That contest finally comes May 2, 2015.
$400 Million Boxing Match
Whoever said boxing is dead did not anticipate the Mayweather/Pacquiao Fight. That boxing match is expected to be the most lucrative match ever (by far). By some estimates, the fight will generate $400 million in revenue. It’s so big that HBO and Showtime agreed to co-broadcast it. Mayweather will get 60% of the purse, while Pacquiao will receive 40%.
It is a massive fight, comparable to the Ali & Frazier fights and the battles between Leonard & Hagler, Leonard & Duran, Leonard & Hearns, and Hagler & Hearns.
While both fighters may have slowed down a bit, they also both continued to build worldwide fan followings. And despite losses in recent years, Pacquiao continues to command a loyal following who believes he can win. One of them is one of the top cash-game poker players in the world.
Pac-Man High Stakes Poker Tale
With the news that Manny “Pac-Man” Pacquiao is set to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. in the most anticipated boxing match of the 21st century, “Best Online Casinos” has a Manny Pacquaio anecdote from the poker felt. It seems that Pac-Man enjoys high stakes poker with some of the professional poker world’s best ring game specialists. Recently, Justin “Boosted J” Smith told a story about his first encounter with Pacquiao at the poker table.
Justin Smith boasted recently on Instagram about his own personal encounter with Pacquiao, while discussing his anticipation of an upcoming documentary entitled “Manny”. Smith’s tale also gave insight into the spirit and character of Manny Pacquiao, who long has been known for his fire and competitiveness in the boxing ring.
Justin Smith’s Instagram message begins as follows:
“One day, Manny and I were playing poker for the first time ever together. I ran one of the most aggressive bluffs ever in my career against him and I bet over $100k on the river, he thought for almost five minutes, and finally showed me that he had folded top pair of aces. He started to beg me to show him my hand. I had one of the most nothing possible hands I’ve ever ended up having, but I had a read on him and decided to go with it.”
Those familiar with poker know that most players prefer not to show their cards after a bluff. One, showing your cards provides opponents with information you might not want them having. With top competitors, information is gold, because it lets them get a read on you.
Two, showing the cards you had is a way of showing up the other player. In the wrong situation, it can be seen as an aggressive and provocative attempt to make one competition go on-tilt. It’s embarrassing to show you were conned into dumping a winning hand. It also can seem unmanly, if a person has a certain moral outlook, if a gambler was scared off the pot by a bluff. Showing up one of the fiercest boxers in the world might not be the best idea in that situation.
Justin Smith continued the story in his Instagram message by saying:
“Naturally, I don’t usually like to show my hands, and didn’t want to rub it in his face that I had outplayed or ‘fooled’ him. I also didn’t want to make him upset [by refusing him], since he was asking me to do something. So, I asked him three times ‘are you sure you want to see my hand?’ And he nodded his head energetically and saying “Yes”, while anticipating me to show my cards. I showed him an absolute stone cold bluff, and when his eyes compared my cards to the board to find the correlation that didn’t exist, his eyes darted back up to meet my eyes and his fists clenched up.”
The man known as “Boosted J” continued with the Instagram posting by concluding, “[Manny] abruptly stood up and charged walking over to me, I stood up, and he started roaring with laughter and shook my hand and gave me a back pat hug. He respected the move I had made because he loves competitiveness.”
Justin Smith complimented Pac-Man’s “relaxed and cool” demeanor, as well as his ability to awe and inspire the people in his presence. It’s a testament to a man’s reputation and charisma, as Pacquiao stands 5’7″ and weighs 144 pounds. Still, the (world’s only) eight-division World Champion, senator, singer, and basketball player is not a person people want to mess with.
For 6 years, Floyd Mayweather proved that. Now, whether the fault was with Mayweather, Pacquiao, or Bob Arum, the fighters are ready to step in the ring and settle old disputes. Hopefully for his fans (and himself), the 2015 version of Pac-Man is a better boxer than he is a poker player.
