Timothy Bradley
Timothy Bradley is a significant underdog against Manny Pacquiao on Saturday night. Getty

The judges awarded Manny Pacquiao and Timothy Bradley one victory each in their two head-to-head fights, but most that watched believed PacMan was the better boxer on both occasions. Having outperformed his opponent twice already, Pacquiao is a significant favorite in Saturday’s WBO welterweight title fight against Bradley.

Pacquiao has -225 betting odds to win the rubber match at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, according to Bovada.lv. Bradley is a +175 underdog, indicating that not much has changed over the last two years. When the two boxers met at the same venue on April 12, 2014, Bradley was a +180 underdog. In their first fight on June 9, 2012, Pacquiao was a -450 favorite, and Bradley was a +325 long shot.

No matter who wins this weekend, all 12 rounds are expected to be completed. The odds of the fight going the distance are -350, and the bout has +230 odds to end because of an early stoppage.

At the peak of his career, Pacquiao was known for his incredible power, knocking out opponents as he continued to move up weight classes. Since stopping Miguel Cotto for his first welterweight championship in 2009, Pacquiao has gone 10 straight fights without knocking out his opponent. The closest he came was in his last victory, knocking down Chris Algieri six times en route to a unanimous decision victory in Nov. 2014.

Behind a 33-1-1 record with one fight that resulted in a no-contest, Bradley has just 13 career knockouts. Prior to defending the WBO welterweight belt in his last fight, Bradley had fought six consecutive fights that went the distance. However, he needed less than nine full rounds to finish off Brandon Rios on Nov. 7.

The most likely outcome is a Pacquiao win by decision, which has been given even odds. Pacquiao has +375 odds to win by KO, TKO or DQ. Other than a draw (+1600), a Bradley victory by early stoppage is considered to be the most unlikely result.

Bradley’s victory over Rios was his first fight since teaming up with trainer Teddy Atlas, and he’s hoping that will help him win a third and presumably final fight against Pacquiao. The current champ also battled foot and calf injuries when facing Pacquiao previously.

Saturday marks Pacquiao’s first fight since he lost in a unanimous decision to Floyd Mayweather on May 2. He underwent shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff just a few days later.

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