Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather not only had the masses watching, it also had them gambling.
Whenever you get a fight like Conor McGregor vs Floyd Mayweather that transcends the boundaries of sport and becomes a global cultural event, you are guaranteed that it’s going to generate a lot of action at the bookmakers.
With so many people giving hot takes and so many vastly different projections for how ‘the Money Fight’ will play out, fans wanted to back up their prediction with a wager or two. For those who believed that the acerbic-tongued Irishman could disrupt the boxing machine in his professional debut, they were given decent odds to allow such an outrageous bet.
Although McGregor wasn’t as big of an underdog as some of Mayweather’s prior opponents, ‘Money’ was still the overwhelming favourite. While there wasn’t much value in placing small bets on the 49-0 prizefighter, the four folks who placed a cool $1 million on Money May All Day, as ESPN.com reports, will argue that there’s great value in a dead cert as they giggle all the way to the bank.
The report from David Purdum also proves definitively that when it comes to Las Vegas, the house always wins. $65 million was wagered on the Money belt ‘title fight’ in Las Vegas alone, while the Nevada books set an August record by winning $33.9 million. They made a whopping profit of approximately $15 million from the aptly-named Money Fight.
Interestingly, Mayweather’s 2015 ‘Fight of the Century’ against Manny Pacquiao previously held the record with $50 million, but that bout left most fans feeling short-change because of the lack of action inside the ring.
While the Mayweather believers undoubtedly were the big winners in the stakes, a special mention must go to former UFC heavyweight Brendan Schaub who managed to avoid showing the world an x-rated photo as a result of his very brave bet.
