Tips for Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor
All the way back in September 2015, the great Floyd Mayweather hung up his gloves and retired following a victory over Andre Burto. When the opportunity came knocking for a huge bout against Conor McGregor to take his overall record to 50-0, however, he was swayed back into the ring.
On August 26th 2017, the most lucrative event ever in boxing takes place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The contest is officially expected to be the biggest betting event of the year, trumping the Super Bowl, which is consistently the winner of said prize.
With a 49-0 record in his favour, Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather is overwhelming favourite to win the match with the bookies, currently available at 1/6 with Paddy Power. Two-weight UFC World Champion Conor McGregor has been backed in slightly over recent months, now priced at 4/1 with Bet365.
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The vast majority of bets so far have been for Mayweather, particular bets on early round KOs. Mayweather’s last KO was seven fights and six years ago, however, and McGregor is a tough nut, often only showing signs of vulnerability in the later stages. While Mayweather carries a perfect record in boxing, McGregor comes into this battle with a 21-3 record, with 17 wins coming in his last 18 bouts.
Mayweather’s brawl with Ricky Hatton ten years ago resulted in the Brit losing by TKO in Round 10 and he was a fighter capable of taking a more intense beating. We can envision McGregor taking plenty of hits as the match progresses and showing signs of weakness as we reach the latter stages of the fight. Thus, we are keen to back a Mayweather victory in the second half of the fight, between Rounds 7-12 and between Rounds 7-9. Looking deeper, Round 9 is the most probable round for the 40 year old to kick in and show his strength, so 12/1 on a KO or TKO in that round is convincing.
Though the brunt of this piece has complimented Mayweather and highlighted how difficult this task is for UFC fighter McGregor, the Irishman fought some gruelling contests with powerful fighters like Nate Diaz and Jose Aldo in the past and still stands a chance of giving Mayweather a wobble or two.
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There’s a distinct possibility that McGregor finds the power to put Mayweather down on the deck if he lands a serious blow, but the likelihood of McGregor being knocked down due to ‘Money’s unique fight style is much more likely. Backing McGregor to be knocked down twice, lose by KO/TKO and to land less than 30 punches at 3/1 with SkyBet’s RequestABet is a gift in our eyes. Meanwhile, as a long shot, McGregor to be knocked down THREE times and lose by KO/TKO is priced at 6/1.
