The day boxing betting fans have been waiting for – the Day of Reckoning, if you will – is nigh. It’s a good thing the psalmist asked to be taught to “number our days” for this day has a human number, and its number is 8/26/2017. Inoki vs. Ali, Balboa vs. Thunderlips, Show vs. Akebono, and now, Conor McGregor vs. Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather. The fight only the most faithful who bet on boxing believed would ever happen has not only date, but also a place; the T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada. Time to put yer money where yer mouth is – and these are the biggest mouths in pro sports and beyond, so we’re talking big money.
Conor McGregor 9½ (+150) +500
Floyd Mayweather Jr 9½ (-170) -700
When they make a movie about this fight, they should get Peter Berg to play Mac and Damon Wayans to play Money. Oh wait, they already made that movie. Life does imitate art, after all. The outcome this time will not be a spoiler, though, at least according to the sportsbook odds which clearly favour the boxer in a boxing match against a non-boxer. Remember when MJ tried his hand at baseball? This could be train wreck of such epic proportions. Not everybody is a Bo Jackson. As CG Technology vice president Matthew Holt told Covers.com, “If Tiger Woods wanted to play Pete Sampras in tennis, Tiger would be saying their two sports are similar, we both hit a ball, etc. But Sampras would be a 1-to-whatever-number-you-want-to-make-it favorite.”
Regardless of all the above, former IBO welterweight champion Chris van Heerden – who sparred with Mac recently – said the boxing betting intelligentsia should not underestimate McGregor. You know, van Heerden is lucky they didn’t spar verbally, because then Mac would have blown him to Kingdom Come. As it were, though, footage of the sparing session shows that the Irish brawler is like the proverbial dog walking on his hind legs; it is not done well, but people who bet on boxing are surprised to find it done at all.
Nonetheless, van Heerden told ESNEWS that “Conor McGregor knows how to let his hands go,” “knows what he’s doing in there,” is “comfortable in the ring,” and has a beautiful counter-left [hook]. Then again, he also said “I would not rate him that highly.” The former boxer also told TMZ that he’s “reading all these comments saying Floyd will have his hands full landing on Conor because of his footwork, skills and movement.” Even so, his footwork will not be the same when he has different footwear on than he accustomed. Similarly, “he won’t have the KO power), not with 10 oz gloves,” as van Heerden points out.
All boxing betting things considered, Mac has painted himself into a corner and assumed the figurative role of the one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest. Except this will be contested under boxing rules so kicks are not allowed like they are in UFC. Thus, Conor will have to rely on his boxing skills; unfortunately, he may find his arms are just too short to box with God.