"SIN CITY" SPECIAL ON "BETTING & BOXING"

[Oddessa]

"SIN CITY" SPECIAL ON "BETTING & BOXING"
by PEDRO FERNANDEZ

WHERE IS ALL THE MONEY GOING AND WHY?

With World middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins just hours away from his 19th defense of the 160 lb. diadem against Oscar De La Hoya, let’s look at the fight strictly from a betting outlook. Anytime De La Hoya fights, the Odds usually change in the last 24 hours as the Los Angeles money comes in big on Oscar at the 11th hour. But on "Ring Talk Radio" last Sunday night, HBO’s Larry Merchant when asked about a late run on Oscar said this. "I don’t know about that. Some of the people I know that usually like to bet Oscar are saying that this time they feel he bit off more than he can handle!"

VEGAS’ BIGGEST SPORTSBOOK AT THE L.V. HILTON’
To that, we bring in the "Betting Line" of Las Vegas Hilton "Superbook" Director Jay Kornegay. Currently Jay has Bernard a -$250 Favorite, while De La Hoya is a +$200 Underdog. This means if you want Hopkins, you put up $250 to win a total of $350. If De La Hoya is your fancy, you bet $100 to walk away with $300 in all. And while the money seems to be continually being bet in small chunks on Oscar, the "Wise Guys" are holding back I’m told until just before the fight. Kornegay said he is expecting a huge run, late and on Bernard.

JAY KORNEGAY ON BOXING AND THE BETTING LINE!
"People in the know are leaning towards Bernard with substantial wagers. The De La Hoya people are the faithful that have always bet him here in Las Vegas. And seeing he’s only lost like three times in forty fights, the people that bet him have done well. Every fight is a tough call because you never know what’s going on behind the scenes with a boxer. A guy gets hurt in the NFL and it’s big news. Somebody training for a fight, unless the Media catches wind of it nobody knows."

DURIING INTERVIEW BIG BET ON JONES COMES IN
As Jay and I were discussing the Hopkins-De La Hoya match, one of his "Writers" walked up and asked Jay if they’d take, "$10,000 on Glenncoffe Johnson at +$650." After a moment of discussion, Kornegay authorized a $5 K bet that will net the better about $32 grand if Johnson can hand Roy loss #3. I’m of the opinion that Glencoffe and Roy are in different stratospheres, yes even the Roy Jones that got knocked the puck out by Antonio Tarver.

LAS VEGAS HILTON "SUPERBOOK" HAS INTERESTING PROP!
The best bet on the night to me seems to be the, "Will it go 11 and ½ rounds or not?" And while I predict it won’t, Kornegay’s Odds seem to indicate otherwise. "We’ve got it -$170 that Hopkins-De La Hoya will go past the 1:30 mark of round 12. On the flipside that it doesn’t go past the middle of the final round, Kornegay has things good for those looking for a good price with +$140, or you bet $100 and collect $240. This covers DQ’s, accidental butts, cuts, Technical Decisions, KO’s by either guy, fight ending injuries, in all, if you’re an extremely "Safe" bettor, this is the way you put down your money.

CONTROL IDS THE REASON OSCAR TOOK THE FIGHT!
When the Hopkins-De La Hoya fight was first announced, those of us that know both the business and sport of prizefighting, we thought that this was a bad move! Fighting Hopkins, even at 39 was something Oscar and Promoter Bob Arum were forced to do in order to retain total control of De La Hoya. For a rematch with Tito Trinidad, Oscar and Tito would have had to relinquish some pomp and promotional power to Don King and Trinidad. Fernando Vargas was a likely foe, but he hurt his back early in the year. And Shane Mosley, he said "No" to a third fight with Oscar when Arum demanded De La Hoya, who has lost two to Mosley, that he get by far the lions share of the loot.

"THE REFRIED GENIUS" IS BETTING ‘NARD AND BIG!
One low keyed "Wise Guy" who knows a lot more than just boxing put it like this. "I’m staying with my original thoughts. Many times I’ve allowed the bull s*it, the hype about a fight change my mind. Not on Hopkins-De La Hoya. I’m I’ll be shopping tonight, looking for the best Odds on Hopkins winning by knockout! I’ll throw a dime on that for sure. This isn’t the fight that people thought it would be. Not in the ring, and not the tickets. The hotel cut the prices of some on Thursday from $1200 to $800, and they had just about every price range available (Friday). I only wish I wouldn’t have bought my tickets already, because I can see scalpers selling them for ½ price Saturday afternoon."