If there’s one main concern about Saturday’s much-hyped, long-anticipated superfight between race-baiting MMA star Conor McGregor and convicted domestic abuser Floyd Mayweather (and to be clear there’s more than one main concern), it’s that the competition itself might not be above board.
A high-percentage of bets placed have been on Conor McGregor, the massive (and understandable) underdog in the bout. If you want a succinct breakdown of why people might be concerned over a possibly predetermined outcome, you should first consider that we’re talking about boxing. And, secondly, here’s professional golfer Rory McIlroy with perhaps the best explanation I’ve read:
.@McIlroyRory had a bit to say about this week’s Mayweather vs. McGregor fight. As you might of imagine, he’s a fan. pic.twitter.com/G5xjYGRHFy
— Rex Hoggard (@RexHoggardGC) August 23, 2017
“I’m interested just to see how it all plays out, but I just fear that they do all this trash-talking ad they go behind the scenes and they are having a laugh and thinking: I can’t believe we are (taking the public) for a ride. We are all buying into it and they are like, can you believe these people believe this. I just hope it doesn’t turn into it and I hope it’s not in any way fixed.
It’s amazing, like we were talking about, imagine McGregor knocks him out in the first couple of rounds. They would get even more for the rematch. The rematch would be even bigger. So it’s just–I just don’t know what that zero on Mayweather’s record is worth, and that’s the thing. That’s his legacy. If he goes down and lies down for ten seconds at some point in that, you know, is that worth making an extra few $100 million? That’s sort of up to him.”
Damn, Rory is woke on the subject.
If there’s one sign that the fight is actually on the level, though, it’s today’s news that there’s late money breaking in favor of Floyd Mayweather:
.@MGMRaceSports took a $1 million bet on Floyd Mayweather today, per Jay Rood.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) August 24, 2017
https://twitter.com/Joe_TOC/status/900880258806669312
That last bit of information is also key; stories everywhere have focused on the majority of bets being placed for Conor, but a bunch of tiny bets don’t mean nearly as much as a few giant whale bets, and all of that money is apparently heading Floyd’s way. Which makes sense, because Floyd Mayweather is almost certainly going to win in a rout. It also makes sense for the smart bettors to come in late, after the odds have been swung Conor’s way enough to generate better value for their money.
So, hey, feel free to tune in on Saturday if you want, because at least from a gambling perspective, it’s unlikely we’re going to see anything resembling a fixed bout. But you can probably find a better way to spend $100.
