INQUIRER Sports

MANILA, Philippines -- Filipino ring icon Manny Pacquiao remains as the boxing bettors’ choice over Mexican warrior Juan Manuel Marquez.

The current line for Pacquiao-Marquez II on March 15 in Las Vegas, according to John Chavez of Boxing Confidential, puts the 29-year-old Pacman ahead at the -170 mark with the 34-year-old “Dinamita” at +150.

It means a $170 bet on Pacquiao will return just $100 while a $100 bet on Marquez will generate $150.

When the betting lines opened for the return bout that took four years to materialized, Pacquiao was tagged a slight favorite at -140 over Marquez, who opened at +110.

According to analysts, the slight movement in the betting odds may be a sign that Pacquiao bettors aren’t taking the Mexican counter-puncher lightly in the megabuck fight for the world super featherweight championship.

It could also mean that Mexican fight fans have unloaded some greenbacks to avert lofty odds for Pacquiao, who sent Marquez to the canvass thrice before settling for a controversial draw in their first showdown.

Another probable reason given was Pacquiao’s failure to knock out Mexican Marco Antonio Barrera, whom Marquez also beat, last October.