By: Sean Crose
Give Conor McGregor this – the guy is a master self promoter, perhaps one of the best in history. While he’s notoriously (no pun intended) well known for the self belief that fuels him, McGregor’s willful persona has also attracted massive numbers of dedicated followers, followers who are now putting up their hard earned money to showcase their faith in the man. The betting for this Saturday’s Mayweather-McGregor fight is massive. That’s no surprise, but what IS surprising is the fact that the vast, vast majority of bets are being placed in the belief that McGregor will win.
Photo Credit: Showtime
“Tickets are coming in on Conor McGregor at about an eighteen to one clip,” betting powerhouse William Hill has stated. That’s a massive difference. Of course, it’s been said that McGregor bets will be on the smaller side, while the kind of big money player that tosses a lot on these sorts of things will most likely go in with Mayweather, who most experts expect to win handily this Saturday night when he faces off with McGregor at the T-Mobile arena in Vegas. Yet it’s also been indicated that Las Vegas might take quite a bath if McGregor somehow pulls off the upset. Then again, things change quickly when it comes to betting. In other words, the tide of McGregor mania might subside over the next few days.
It’s worth noting that it’s not just faith in the MMA star’s ability to best the perhaps greatest boxer in a generation that has people laying down their hard earned cash. Some, perhaps far more than some, are betting that McGregor will actually get disqualified. You read that right. People are betting that McGregor will lose by doing something stupid in the ring on Saturday night. As the old adage goes: it’s your money. It must be stated, however, that the disqualification bets perfectly showcase the goofball nature of this entire event.
Floyd Mayweather’s right hand man actually compared the fight and all that surrounds it to the Kardashians and maybe he’s not too far off. People like to the watch and read up on the Kardashians, however. Yet no one’s probably ever bet money of Chloe going in for a roundhouse kick. One other odd note is it’s being reported as late as of this writing that the event still hasn’t sold out the T-Mobile arena, where the fight is being held.
It’s been said this has more to do with the expensive nature of tickets than any lack of popularity. For the younger crowd that McGregor appeals to may not have the ready money to toss a couple of grand off for fight night in Vegas, while perhaps some of those who coughed up thousands for Mayweather-Pacquiao in 2015 aren’t quite as willing to part with that kind of money in order to see Mayweather fight a man who has never boxed professionally in his life.
