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All the rumors, speculation and guesswork can finally come to an end. Conor McGregor vs. Floyd Mayweather is actually happening.
“The Notorious,” confirmed the news on Twitter:
THE FIGHT IS ON.
As has been rumored for quite some time, the two will meet in a boxing match August 26 in Las Vegas. According to OddsShark, Mayweather opened as a massive -2250 moneyline favorite, with McGregor’s odds being set at +950. Early action on McGregor pushed the line in the other direction, but “Money” is still heavily favored:
Mayweather: -800
McGregor: +500
In Las Vegas, the odds are even more lopsided:
https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/status/875110384507670528
It’s not exactly surprising. Mayweather, who will be on his “home court,” is 49-0 inside the boxing ring and considered to be–at the very least–the best pure boxer of his generation. McGregor, meanwhile, may be an elite mixed martial artist and arguably the UFC’s top pound-for-pound fighter, but he has zero boxing experience, whether it be as an amateur or a pro.
That said, there are still some reasons this could at least be interesting beyond the mere novelty of the whole thing.
Mayweather is 40 years old and hasn’t fought since defeating Andre Berto in September of 2015. There’s no way he would take this fight if he wasn’t still in excellent shape, but as a defensive fighter who has always had world-class quickness, losing even half of a step could hurt him.
On the other side of things, McGregor’s strength inside the Octagon has always been his boxing. It’s unclear if he has the discipline necessary for a grind-it-out, 12-round fight that Floyd tends to create, but there’s no question the 28-year-old has the blend of precision and power to end things very quickly. Just ask Jose Aldo.
“There’s going to be a lot of McGregor support,” said Jeff Sherman, assistant manager at the Westgate. “A lot of tickets, a lot of probably $20 bets, $100 bets that might keep the price down, but I know you’re going to see, once the fight is officially announced, larger wagers come in and support Mayweather.”
The line shouldn’t move much further in McGregor’s direction, but this is a unprecedented moment in sports, so it’s difficult to predict exactly what will happen in the coming two months.
