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Though it's a matchup of top ten (arguably even top five) featherweights, Yuriorkis Gamboa is an enormous favorite over Daniel Ponce de Leon tomorrow in Atlantic City, with odds that resemble more an on-paper mismatch than the best facing the best.
| Sportsbook | Gamboa | Ponce de Leon |
|---|---|---|
| 5Dimes | -1100 |
+700 |
| BetUS | -1200 |
+650 |
| Bodog | -1400 |
+700 |
| Sportsbook.com | -1400 |
+700 |
Gamboa having these heavy odds is a bit of a surprise -- not that he's the favorite, because we all knew he would be, or even a big favorite. But I might have expected the odds to top out at -750 instead of coming in low at -1100. Basically, Daniel Ponce de Leon, a quality fighter with good power, is being given no shot to win this fight. I think most of us agree that Gamboa is the true best featherweight in the world, belts be damned, but these are big odds still.
Ponce de Leon, at 31, really has nothing to lose in this fight, and he does have the power to knock out anyone at 126. We saw similar odds earlier this year for the Wilfredo Vazquez Jr vs Jorge Arce fight, and that was a fight where we all thought Arce would be too small, too slow, too old, and too worn-out to win. He won. Anything can happen, and Gamboa is always worth tuning in to see, no matter what.
Bad Left Hook will have live, round-by-round coverage, starting tomorrow night at 10:30 p.m. on HBO, right after the third installment of Mayweather vs Ortiz: 24/7.