Sportsbooks aren't confident that Joel Casamayor's ability to stand on his tippy toes will help him win against Timothy Bradley. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
One of the things that Top Rank has been hoping with the Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez undercard tonight is that nobody, or very few of the people watching the show will have seen 40-year-old former lightweight world champion Joel Casamayor fight since 2008, because it hasn't been pretty.
When they made the decision to match Casamayor against unbeaten junior welterweight Timothy Bradley in the main co-feature fight of the card, boxing fans who knew better groaned. Some vomited. Some screamed and ran into the night. Not only is Casamayor an ugly fighter who doesn't make for good fights, but he isn't even good anymore.
It looks like the sportsbooks have seen him, or at least encountered one of those screaming boxing fans running back out of the woods, and asked them what happened, because as big a favorite as Manny Pacquiao is tonight, you can more than double it for Bradley on some books:
| Sportsbook | Bradley | Casamayor |
|---|---|---|
| 5Dimes | -2150 |
+1300 |
| BetUS | -2500 |
+900 |
| Bodog | -2000 |
+900 |
| SBG Global | -2200 |
+1200 |
| Sportsbook.com | -2000 |
+1000 |
To say this makes for a laughable "semi main event" is an understatement. If you want to win $100 on Timothy Bradley, you have to fork over anywhere from $2000 to $2500.
After the jump: Alvarado vs Prescott and Cruz vs Burgos odds.
The other and better 140-pound fight features Colorado's Mike Alvarado, a 31-year-old guy who's still a prospect after years of screwing up his career outside the ring, against Breidis Prescott, that dude that once knocked out Amir Khan and hasn't done much since. I think this could be a real trap fight for Alvarado, who is talented but has actually never fought anyone as good as the limited Prescott. Prescott had his best performance (well, best that went past 54 seconds) in September against Paul McCloskey, and I really thought he deserved the win in that fight. These are fair odds, though; Alvarado is the house fighter and the fight has been made because Top Rank thinks he'll win.
| Sportsbook | Alvarado | Prescott |
|---|---|---|
| 5Dimes | -600 |
+450 |
| BetUS | -600 |
+400 |
| Bodog | -450 | +300 |
| SBG Global | -550 |
+350 |
| Sportsbook.com | -525 |
+325 |
On paper the night's most evenly matched fight is the 130-pound bout between Luis Cruz of Puerto Rico, and Mexico's Juan Carlos Burgos. With narrow odds favoring Top Rank's Cruz, that holds up on the books. This could be the fight of the night, as it is by far the biggest fight either has had televised in America.
| Sportsbook | Cruz | Burgos |
|---|---|---|
| 5Dimes | -165 |
+145 |
| BetUS | -175 |
+145 |
| Bodog | -155 |
+125 |
| SBG Global | -165 |
+135 |
| Sportsbook.com | -140 |
+110 |


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