They’re calling it the fight of the century, and with the immense amount of buzz and excitement that has been surrounding the McGregor vs Mayweather fight since its announcement, which has been building and building and looks to hit fever pitch by the time the fight takes place on Saturday, fight of the century seems like the right title!When the fight was first announced and bets started to be taken, William Hill had Mayweather at the 1/11 favourite, with McGregor seemingly judged to have little chance as a novice boxer against the 49-0 record of one of the best the world has ever seen.However, the odds have changed since then, and there’s a few reasons why.
The Gloves
Odds became more favourable to McGregor recently after the announcement that the Nevada State Athletic Commission had allowed, on request of both fighters, for McGregor and Mayweather to wear 8oz gloves instead of the usual 10oz variety, despite the advice of the Association of Ringside Physicians.Lighter gloves will play to the favour of McGregor, who is not used to fighting in heavy boxing gloves, and the odds on him, which are now at 3/1 against the new, longer odds of 1/4 for Mayweather have changed as a result.
UFC Bets
However, as much optimism as there is around McGregor’s chances, not least from the man himself, oddsmaker Nick Bogdanovic says that the number of UFC fans expected to bet on McGregor out of loyalty is the main reason the odds are so short, adding that if bets were not being taken, a more accurate number would put Mayweather as the 1/100 favourite.Whatever the outcome, this is going to be one of the biggest fights of all time, and there’s only a few days left to get your bets in.