Boxing in 2022 is an interesting world. While promoters are fighting against the politics and bureaucracy of the various boxing federations, another group of people is making serious money – recently retired legends. Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather aptly pioneered the trend, but now several big names in boxing have followed suit, fighting exhibition matches against pseudo-celebrities to fatten their own purses.
This is exactly what Manny Pacquiao – the eight-division champion and destroyer of WBC odds and WBA predictions – will be doing this Saturday night. Having only retired last year, he will step back into the ring for the first of several exhibitions matches the Philipino has scheduled. Up against YouTube self-defense coach DK Yoo, whether or not Pacquiao is a better boxer is never in question – how the match may end, however, is what we’ll look at in this betting preview.
| Event: | Six-round exhibition fight |
| Venue: | The Seoul Arena, Seoul, South Korea |
| Date: | Saturday 10 December from 10:00 PM EST |
Here’s a look at the overall odds for this fight for those who enjoy betting on boxing exhibition fights:
As expected, Manny Pacquiao is the overwhelming favorite heading into this exhibition bout with the bookmakers. In fact, the Manny Pacquiao betting odds are so heavily weighted in the Filipino legend’s favor that online betting providers cannot accurately represent them as a fraction. Essentially, a Manny Pacquiao win here is a foregone conclusion. However, as we’ll see below, these betting odds to win are not as straightforward as they seem.
25+ sportsSuperb bonusesEasy to useVIP programLive gamesMany bonusesMany bonuses24/7 supportMobile appsLive bettingMany sportsFast payoutsGreat supportMobile appsLive bettingThe bottom line is this is a fight between one of the greatest men to ever step inside a boxing ring and a man who has never stepped inside a boxing ring professionally. As a contest, this couldn’t be more one-sided.
The Philippine’s Manny Pacquiao first debuted as a professional boxer in 1995. Since then, the 43-year-old has fought 72 professional fights, winning 62 of them. With a professional record of 62-8-2, Pacquiao has fought and won world titles across eight different weight grades, making him one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in all of history.
His last professional fight was a little over a year ago, in August 2021, when he lost a unanimous decision against Yordenis Ugas. This defeat saw Pacquiao head into retirement on a sad note, the result not reflecting how dominant Pacquiao has been across his 27-year professional career.
When it comes to Pacquiao’s advantages over DK Yoo, the reality is that Pacquiao out-matches Yoo in all areas.
The veteran has vastly more experience than his opponent, having fought on the big stage for almost three decades. He’s faster, more skillful, and has a much better fight IQ than Yoo as well. The news is that he’s also in better shape, despite the fact that he’s been out of the ring for over a year.
Manny Pacquiao is about as famous as it gets when it comes to boxing, but DK Yoo is also something of a celebrity. The South Korean has built a name for himself on social media as a self-defense and martial arts instructor and has an enormous following that enjoys his boxing and martial arts content.
However, this is the first time that DK Yoo will be stepping into the boxing ring in this capacity. He has fought one exhibition match prior to this weekend, which he lost by a decision. However, the number of DK Yoo’s fights in a professional capacity is exactly zero – he has never contested a professional boxing match in his life. The reality is, the fact that he gets to share the ring with Pacquiao is a win for Yoo. He will receive incredible exposure for his business, and for him, it’s not about winning; it’s about showing up.
South Korea’s social media star has only one thing going for him against Pacquiao – size.
Yoo holds a significant height, weight, and reach advantage over Pacquiao. The YouTube star stands a good six inches over his opponent, with an equivalent reach edge as well. Once the weigh-in results are registered, Yoo is expected to come in heavier than Pacquiao by some distance as well.
While Yoo will try his best to leverage this plus his technical understanding of boxing to his advantage, the reality is that no size or theoretical knowledge can substitute for Pacquiao’s 72 professional fights. It’s quite scarry to open bookmakers in the Philippines to see the odds for their compatriot.
This match will be determined solely by Manny Pacquiao. Those who are looking at the Manny Pacquiao vs DK Yoo betting odds and trying to make a case for DK Yoo to be the winner based on his skill or size are not grounded in reality.
However, when it comes to betting on boxing exhibition fights, the important thing to note is that there are no judges. This is not technically a professional fight, so if the match goes the distance, no winner is declared. That means that while Pacquiao is highly likely to dominate this match-up, it’s in Pac-Man’s hands whether or not he forces the issue and goes for a knockout or simply treats this as a heavy sparring session.
We think that Pacquiao will be determined to make up for his last fight, where he lost to Yordenis Ugas on points, and will go for the knockout here.
Whether you are planning to live stream this match or simply catch the highlights, a bet on Master Pacquiao to win should generate a return. The 43-year-old veteran is very unlikely to lose and is motivated to make a statement after losing his last fight.
As a result, taking Pacquiao to win with bookmaker odds of 1.04 (1/10) is a strong bet to make this weekend.
