Bets are on: Pacquiao or Floyd

MANILA, Philippines - The excitement over the prospects of Manny Pacquiao versus Floyd Mayweather Jr. happening next year has given oddsmakers the green light to open the lines.

The odds are pretty close.

South Point sports book has placed Mayweather at -300, the favorite against Pacquiao, listed at -250. That means $300 to win $100 for Mayweather and $250 to win $100 for Pacquiao.

Oddsmaker Jimmy Vaccaro told the Las Vegas Review Journal that since he opened the lines a couple of months ago 10 tickets have been printed.

“There was only one significant bet,” Vaccaro said of a $5,000 wager on Pacquiao.

Of the 10 live tickets, nine are for the charismatic Filipino boxer.

Vaccaro said the fight should happen on or before May 31 next year or all bets are off and all wagers will be refunded.

The Vegas oddsmaker is among those hoping for the fight to happen in the first six months of 2015 because there’s no fight bigger than this.

“It’s the only fight out there. What is there left in boxing?” he told Matt Youmans of the LVRJ.

There’s some movement in the odds, particularly after Pacquiao knocked Chris Algieri down six times en route to a lopsided win two weeks ago in Macau.

The pay-per-view numbers are not out yet but industry sources say it’s around 400,000 buys or almost just half of how the Tim Bradley rematch did last April.

Pacquiao, however, proved that he’s still exciting to watch. He showed the hunger, the speed and the power in the fight against Algieri, and has openly challenged Mayweather.

“It’s time to step up,” he said.