Pacquiao the favorite this time
It has been nearly four years since Manny Pacquiao defeated Marco Antonio Barrera with an 11th-round technical knockout. The two acclaimed boxers will meet again Saturday in Las Vegas in a non-title super-featherweight bout.
Pacquiao will enter the ring at Mandalay Bay as a heavy favorite at -285, which means a $285 bet will pay $100 if the Filipino boxer is victorious. A $100 bet on Barrera will pay $225 if he wins.
These odds are much different compared with their first bout in 2003 when big money flowed in the direction of Barrera, who already was regarded as one of the sport’s top champions.
Since Pacquiao shocked the boxing world with his upset victory, he has taken over the role as the fighter people love to support.
Pacquiao has fought eight times since he defeated Barrera and he has been favored in each bout, including his third fight against Erik Morales (who had defeated Pacquiao 10 months earlier).
Barrera, who has fought six times since that 2003 loss to Pacquiao, lost his last fight to Juan Manuel Marquez, who won a 12-round decision March 17.
Pro football
The type of support the San Diego Chargers received at the start of the season is hard to find now with their 1-3 start, especially after last week’s disappointing loss to the Kansas City Chiefs at Qualcomm Stadium.
The Chargers not only are 1 1/2 -point underdogs for their game at Denver (2-2) on Sunday, but according to AccuScore.com (which simulates every play 10,000 times), the Chargers no longer rate as favorites to win the AFC West championship.
After being an overwhelming preseason pick to win the division, the Chargers are now at 32.1% to win the title, behind the Chiefs (2-2) at 32.2%. The Broncos are third at 23.5% followed by the Oakland Raiders (2-2) at 14.2%.
The latest line at Sportsbook.com has San Diego at 5-7 to win the AFC West with Denver at 7-4, Oakland 6-1 and Kansas City 8-1.
College football
Wisconsin may be ranked No. 5 in the nation with a 5-0 record but that hasn’t meant much to oddsmakers, who made the Badgers 2 1/2 -point underdogs for their game at Illinois (4-1) on Saturday.
The main reasons behind the line are Wisconsin’s 1-3 record against the spread this season and Illinois’ 27-20 victory over Penn State last week.
AccuScore.com’s forecast? The Badgers cover on 52% of the games played.
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