By: Sean Crose
Give Logan Paul this – he has his fans. According to Oddschecker.com, the novice boxer is now favored to win his exhibition match against Floyd Mayweather when the two meet Sunday night in Miami for a highly publicized pay per view event. “When the fight was first rumored Mayweather was given staggering -10000 odds to Paul’s +2500,” says Oddschecker. “Those odds shrunk once the fight was announced and Mayweather was given -2500 odds to Paul’s +900. Now those odds have shrunk even further.” Although Mayweather is still being seen by gamblers as the favorite, the change in betting is notable.
“Floyd Mayweather is now -900, or an implied 90% chance of victory,” says the site. “He’s a heavy favorite for sure, but to go from -10000 to -900 Is an astonishing odds change. For his part, Paul’s odds have shortened all the way to +500, or an implied 16.7% chance to pull off the massive upset.” Oddschecker spells out the situation plainly. “There’s a simple reason why the odds have shifted in such a major way,” the site claims. “Logan Paul is the bettors’ favorite to win the fight. Over the last 7 days, 57% of bets have been placed on him. Meanwhile, only 38.1% of bets have been placed on Mayweather. A strong 4.9% of bets have been placed on a draw.”
Company spokesman Kyle Newman indicates that odds are based on what bettors want, not what experts and/or analysts think. “The odds are dictated by the market, and the bets have been on Paul,” he says. “It’s tough to see any way he wins this fight, especially since he couldn’t even beat a YouTuber, but bettors are doing their thing. Perhaps the odds on Paul were simply too good to pass up, but even so it’s hard to see him actually winning the fight.”
Mayweather’s last pro fight was in 2017. In that battle, he bested UFC star Conor McGregor, subsequently elevating his record to a whopping 50-0. Since that time, however, the fighter known as Money has made it a point to remain in the spotlight. He had a one sided throwdown in Japan with a kickboxer several years back and now will undoubtedly bring in money and eyeballs with his exhibition against Paul. Although Paul and his younger brother Jake are relatively new to the fight game, and have less than impressive boxing resumes, their popularity as social media stars are turning the duo into some of the biggest attractions in combat sports.