Based on the betting odds, Filipino challenger Jayson Vayson is seen by ringsiders as a sacrificial lamb.
Vayson is set to battle rising Puerto Rican star Oscar Collazo on 20 September at Fantasy Spring Resort and Casino in Indio, California.
Collazo doesn’t only hold the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and World Boxing Association (WBA) minimumweight title belts.
Oddsmakers have installed Collazo as -1800 ($1800 bet on Collazo wins $100) and Vayson +920 ($100 wager on Vayson wins $920).
Unbeaten in 12 fights with nine knockouts, the southpaw Collazo, 28, also boasts of The Ring magazine strap.
Two Filipinos — Melvin Jerusalem and Pedro Taduran — are the other titleholders in the 105-pound class.
Jerusalem is the World Boxing Council titlist while Taduran is the International Boxing Federation (IBF) ruler.
A couple of days ago, Vayson was in Manila to watch a big show starring Orient-Pacific Boxing Federation bantamweight champion Kenneth Llover.
He was joined by his chief handler and promoter Brico Santig, the well-connected Bangkok-based fight figure.
While in Manila, Vayson also paid a visit to the Games and Amusements Board and did his medicals.
Santig said Vayson will train in the City of Pines before flying to Los Angeles not later than two weeks before the Collazo clash.
“It could even be earlier than that,” Santig added.
Vayson, 27, has a 14-1-1 mark with eight knockouts. He has fought in Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates.
If victorious, Vayson will be the first Filipino to bag all three belts at the same time.
Marlon Tapales was briefly a two-belt champion after beating Murodjon Akhmadakiev of Uzbekistan to grab the WBA and IBF plums.
While eight-division legend Manny Pacquiao was once regarded as pound-for-pound king, he was never an undisputed champion.