From a massive 3-1 favorite, Floyd Mayweather has become a less than 2-1 favorite to beat Manny Pacquiao on May 2 in Las Vegas.
According to sportsbook, Mayweather is now a -195 (a $195 bet wins $100) and Pacquiao +165 ($100 bet wins $165).
The odds are expected to tighten up a bit more in the final weeks and into the last few days as big money should tilt the balance in Pacquiao’s favor.
This is the first time in a long while that Pacquiao, 36, is entering the ring the underdog.
The last time was when he faced Oscar De La Hoya in Dec. 2008 when the Filipino icon beat up the Golden Boy, forcing him to quit on his stool.
After mauling De La Hoya and forcing him to retire, Pacquiao was the clear favorite against Ricky Hatton, Miguel Cotto, Joshua Clottey, Antonio Margarito, Shane Mosley, Juan Manuel Marquez and Tim Bradley.
Pacquiao was also the overwhelming favorite against Brandon Rios and Chris Algieri.
“It (being the underdog) gives me the extra motivation,” said Pacquiao, who is in the thick of preparation at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood.
Some of Pacquiao’s biggest victories came when he was the underdog.
Pacquiao, still in his late teens, was behind on all scorecards when he flattened the heavily-favored Chatchai Sasakul to win the world flyweight title in Bangkok in 1998.
In 2001 when he made his US debut, there was not even a betting line when he fought Lehlo Ledwaba of South Africa. Pacquiao busted Ledwaba in six rounds to nail the world super-bantam diadem.
Pacquiao also shocked the world when he stopped Marco Antonio Barrera before a highly-partisan crowd at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, in Nov. 2003.