The Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor superfight once considered a publicity stunt is now nearing reality. Just last night, McGregor announced he’d reached an agreement with the UFC for the boxing match, and now UFC president Dana White is set to meet with Floyd Mayweather’s people to arrange their side of the deal. To celebrate, Conor put up this adorable photo with his babies … plus his newborn child.
Let's go get some boxing ones now son. pic.twitter.com/KwBkFriTto
— Conor McGregor (@TheNotoriousMMA) May 18, 2017
Not many educated combat sports fans are giving Conor McGregor much of a chance of winning a boxing match against boxing’s undefeated pound for pound great, and that’s reflected in the gambling odds, which opened for the fight at a stunning -2500 for favorite Mayweather and McGregor as a +1100 underdog. But with the fight nearing completion, we’re seeing the odds starting to shrink between the two.
As it stands now, bookies have Floyd Mayweather at -1500 with McGregor at +1000. If you’re familiar with sportsbook odds, here’s what that means: You’d have to bet $1500 on Mayweather to win $100, while a $100 bet on McGregor would gain you $1000 … provided he won, of course.
Now it’s not like Mayweather’s chances have halved since the books opened on this fight. Part of an oddsmaker’s job is to set a line that is not only representative of the likely outcome, but draws in bettors. Apparently -2500 was still too crazy high to bring in a high volume of betting, even when Mayweather’s victory is considered as close to a sure thing as any fight in boxing could be.
We’d say you can expect the lines to move even more as the fight gets hyped up and Conor McGregor uses his impressive powers of persuasion to convince the world he has a chance, and his legions of Irish fans start pumping sportsbooks full of money backing their man.
