Support for Hatton is growing

Buster Douglas pulled it off against Mike Tyson. Antonio Tarver did the same to Roy Jones Jr., and years ago, Muhammad Ali got it done against George Foreman. Great boxing upsets. They happen, and when they do, Las Vegas sportsbooks usually suffer.

That’s why oddsmakers adjust lines on big fights to make the betting action as equal as possible. That has been the case with tonight’s fight between underdog Ricky Hatton and Floyd Mayweather Jr., who will meet for the World Boxing Council welterweight title at the MGM Grand Garden.

Although both fighters are undefeated, Mayweather (38-0, 24 knockouts) opened as a heavy favorite with odds as high as -350 on some sportsbooks.

But support for Hatton (43-0, 31 KOs) has been steady and strong, which has dropped the odds for Mayweather as low as -220, according to VegasInsider.com. Hatton has gone from +220 to +180.

Much of the credit behind Hatton’s betting boost goes to English boxing fans, who have put their money behind their countryman. But Hatton also has picked up backing as a result of HBO’s Mayweather/Hatton “24/7” reality series.

“I’d say their efforts have easily doubled interest and betting volume on this bout,” boxing linesmaker Joey Oddessa told Covers.com. “The series makes the bout appealing to even the most casual fans, who are always eager to wager their money in hopes of a satisfying double payday. The heel going down and cashing a ticket.”

Here are a few proposition bets for Mayweather versus Hatton, according to Bodoglife.com: Mayweather by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification (37-10), Mayweather by decision (10-13), Hatton by KO, TKO or DQ (18-5), Hatton by decision (39-10) and a draw (20-1).

Will the fight go the distance? Yes (-240) or no (+190); Will the fight go 1:30 into Round 7? Yes (-800) or no (+400); Will the fight go 1:30 into Round 3? Yes (-3,000) or no (+1,500).

Mayweather is knocked down or out: (+375); Mayweather not knocked down or out (-215); Hatton is knocked down or out (+175); Hatton not knocked down or out (-215).

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College football

Only one Bowl Championship Series game has a point spread of less than four points, and that’s the Orange Bowl, where Virginia Tech is a 3 1/2 -point favorite over Kansas.

In the BCS national title game, LSU is a 4 1/2 -point favorite over Ohio State; in the Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma is favored by 6 1/2 points over West Virginia.

In the Sugar Bowl, Georgia is a 9 1/2 -point favorite over Hawaii; and the Rose Bowl has USC as a 13-point favorite over Illinois.

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lonnie.white@latimes.com