After drawing an unprecedented amount of betting and public interest, the trash talking finally ended on Saturday (26 August), as Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor came to blows in Las Vegas.
As the majority of commentators and bookmaker believed the UFC Vs Boxing bout was predictably one sided, as despite McGregor’s encouraging start the speed and movement of the masterly Mayweather proved too much for the novice Irishman.
Paddy Power’s Lee Price told SBC: “It was the biggest betting event of the year, and McGregor avoided the fourth round knockout he’d promised – therefore meaning we swerved a seriously heavy beating.
“The fight itself lived up to what all the sensible pundits were predicting but, with Leicester, Brexit and Trump still looming large in our thoughts, you could never fully rule out McGregor.”
Lee also reacted to Mayweather’s flamboyant weigh in attire: “It was surreal seeing Mayweather in Paddy Power pants – not least because his opponent was the man we were rooting for personally.
“That said, after so much preparation – especially around the design of the pants, which was a surprisingly complex process when it came to pleasing Floyd – it was a relief to see it all go to plan on weigh-in night.”
Such was the betting interest of the event, a McGregor upset would have left bookmakers suffering record losses, as the prefight interest only increased as the fight grew closer.
Online betting operator Betway hailed the Floyd Mayweather v Conor McGregor fight as one of the busiest and most profitable events in its history. Betway’s Head of PR Alan Alger commented on the event: “The bet count throughout Saturday was similar to if a major football final was taking place that evening.
“Some of the early rounds for McGregor had liabilities that would have produced a record loss on any market we’ve ever offered. Thankfully, in the end, we couldn’t have picked a better outcome. It was one of the busiest and most profitable events in the history of the company.”
The fight also opened up a whole host of post fight markets, with Betway immediately speculating about what the two fighters will do next.
Betway revealed that its 33/1 for Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather to fight in the Ocatgon before the end of 2018, whilst its just 7/2 that the relace the gloves for a boxing rematch.
A return to UFC looks more likely for McGregor, with Tony Ferguson his most likely opponent at 6/4, it’s 7/4 he faces the ‘Motown Phenom’ Kevin Lee and 5/1 that he completes the trilogy with a decisive fight with Nate Diaz.
Mayweather’s options are far more extravagant, he is 4/6 to compete at WrestleMania, 9/2 to buy a Las Vegas casino and 10/1 to run for US Senate.
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