MANILA, Philippines — Manny Pacquiao was effusive in praise of Jessie Vargas, saying "it's an honor" to take on the reigning world welterweight champion.
A look at the betting odds ahead of the fight on Saturday (Sunday, Manila time) makes one wonder whether Vargas should be the more unassuming fighter.
US gambling site Bovada has pegged Pacquiao as an overwhelming favorite at -750, while Vargas is a +475 underdog. (A $750 bet on Pacquiao returns $100, while a $100 wager on Vargas returns $475.)
While bettors are bullish on a Pacquiao win, the fighter remained modest about his chances, a typical demeanor he exhibits in the run-up to his fights.
"It's good for me," he said during the prefight press conference on Wednesday in Las Vegas, referring to his role as challenger to Vargas' throne. "It's more of a challenge. It gives me more inspiration to focus more and work hard."
Vargas' camp has been less timid, to say the least.
"I've had a great training camp," Vargas said at the same press conference. "This has been the best to date. I'm very happy with my team, and they are bringing out the best in me. I've said that before and I said that in the last fight."
"We're planning on outdoing that performance."
Vargas' trainer, the outspoken Dewey Cooper, doubled down on his fighter's statement, saying they had an "incredible" camp.
"Jessie has surpassed anything we did in our previous camp, when we won the WBO welterweight title," he added.
Cooper made it clear that Vargas is not just a mere "titleholder." "We are world champions," he declared. "Titleholder does not adequately describe what Jessie is."
"We are the defending champion. We are here to defend our title, and we look forward to it on Saturday night," he said.
Pacquiao has not entered a fight as a challenger since his rematch with Timothy Bradley for the WBO title in April 2014.
Against Floyd Mayweather in May 2015, Pacquiao was the defending WBO welterweight champion, but he also challenged the American for the WBA, WBC, and The Ring belts.
"It's an honor for me to challenge a champion," Pacquiao said. "(Vargas) is a champion. You cannot say titleholder. His trainer is right – he's a champion, he's defending his belt."
In the Philippines, the fight will be seen live, commercial-free and in high definition on November 6, 9 a.m. on SKY Sports Pay-Per-View.
In the Middle East, the fight will be shown on November 6 at 4 a.m. in KSA and 5 a.m. in Dubai, live (with replays) via TFC.tv. It is also available via OSN, ELife and Mozaic TV powered by Ooredoo.
In the US, it will be shown on November 5 live, distributed by Top Rank PPV.
For more sports coverage, visit the ABS-CBN Sports website.
0 comments :
Post a Comment