Former Champ Headlines Donaire vs Santiago Betting Odds

Donaire vs Santiago betting odds expect a close fight for the vacant WBC Bantamweight title in Las Vegas on Saturday.

There isn’t much on the boxing schedule today, but bettors take notice when Nonito Donaire enters the ring.

He is the former three-belt champion, who looks to regain a title, but standing in his way is +120 underdog Alejandro Santiago.

Boxing today is extremely competitive, and as the Boxing odds suggest, it could come down to the late rounds.

Donaire Seeks Bounce Back

It didn’t take long for Japanese superstar Naoya Inoue to knock out Donaire, but the Filipino-American is a top-level boxer.

He’s a 49-fight veteran with a significant experience edge over Santiago, and that’s being reflected with Donaire vs Santiago betting odds.

Boxing odds know how dangerous he is, regardless of his age, and Santiago isn’t Inoue, so he should find this fight more to his liking.

The 42-7 fighter would love nothing more than to get a belt back around his waist.

“I’m coming to the ring on July 15 to take that belt home and there’s no second option for me,” said Donaire.

“I’m thankful to my team for this opportunity and I’ve been training hard to make the most of it. I’ve brought in some really fast fighters who have helped me prepare, and my team has really focused on giving me some defensive pointers. I’m ahead of schedule right now and I can’t wait to get in there.”

His most recent victory came in 2021 against the previously unbeaten Reymart Gaballo. It was an excellent knockout win, which followed another knockout win against Nordine Oubaali.

The class is with Donaire, who is the -150 favorite. We expect those odds to shorten throughout the week, and he could shorten to around -170.

He has always responded to a loss with a win, and our predictions see him pushing Santiago to his limits.

Santiago Facing Class Rise

We are surprised by the Donaire vs Santiago betting odds, especially the +120 for Santiago.

The 27-3-5 fighter is ranked outside the top 10 in the world, and he hasn’t beaten anyone of note. He comes off a win against Antonio Nieves, but before then, he was beating low level fighters.

The best form guide was his fight against Gary Antonio Russell, who won by majority decision. To his credit, he went close to beating Russell, but Donaire is a former champion and he’s on another level.

He believes he was robbed against Russell, and if that was true, then he does have a chance to beat Donaire.

“I don’t like to use the term robbed,” said Santiago. “In my opinion, I thought I won 6 of the 10 rounds. It was a very close fight and there is no one here to blame but me. I blame myself because it took me the first couple of rounds to make adjustments and follow our game plan.”

He needs to lift his output to get the better of Donaire. Santiago is the younger and fresher fighter, but his lack of ringcraft could work against him.

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