MANNY PACQUIAO VS MIGUEL COTTO LATEST BETTING ODDS

Since Floyd Mayweather secured his points victory against Juan Manuel-Marquez, everybody's eyes have been glued to the Manny Pacquiao-Miguel Cotto saga that's set to unfold on November 13 at 9 pm eastern. This fight is clearly seen as the precursor to the incredible superfight between Mayweather and Pacquiao. Pacquiao doesn't seem to be the rock-solid favourite that everybody thinks he will be and that's indicated by his 1.44 price. Sure, that's a slim margin, but I still consider that pretty good odds on one of the best fighters to ever grace his (many) weight classes. Manny's incredible counter-punching style will certainly be put to the test against Cotto, who is listed at 2.63- an enticing price for detractors of Pacquiao. Stanjames.com, always first with boxing betting odds, have released round-by-round odds as well. I expect these prices to fluctuate slightly, but the round betting certainly gives you an idea of how the bookies expect the fight to shape up. Clearly, a Pacquiao victory is going to be scored by KO or TKO- that much is clear. Manny to win on points pays out at a whopping 4.5. Compare that to his outright price and you get an idea of just how much a KO victory is favoured. I expect once the direct KO victory market becomes available it will be listed at evens, possibly lower. Cotto is 6.0 to win on points and it looks like he's going to have to hunt for the knockout as well. Both fighters are listed at virtually the same odds for the round betting and you'll see that the bookies expect the 5 and 6 rounds to be the key ones in the fight. Both boxers are 17.0 to win by KO or TKO in those particular rounds. The round betting starts at 29.0 for the first round, dips to 23 for the second and 21 for the third and fourth. There's an interesting little quirk in here though, with Pacquiao going up to 21.0 in the 7th and then back down to 19.0 in the 8th. Cotto's round odds don't go this way, and lowering the odds for a Pacquiao knockout in the 8th after they've just risen is very suspicious. I think that could be a key thing to remember going forward- they wouldn't have done that for no reason. I'm backing a Pacquiao victory by KO in the 8th round.