8-ounce gloves shrink odds on Mayweather-McGregor fight
The decision to allow Conor McGregor and Floyd Mayweather Jr. to wear 8-ounce gloves instead of 10-ounce ones had an immediate impact on the odds on the fight at Las Vegas sports books.
William Hill sports book dropped Mayweather from a minus-600 favorite to minus-550 and increased McGregor’s odds from plus-450 to plus-425 for their Aug. 26 boxing match at T-Mobile Arena.
With 10-ounce gloves, McGregor predicted he’d knock out Mayweather inside of four rounds. With 8-ounce gloves, the UFC star predicted a knockout in the first two rounds.
“The only reason I maybe give him two rounds is because in this game the referee stops me from pounding his head into the canvas, and he has 10 seconds to recover,” he said during a media workout in Las Vegas. “That’s the only reason why he might get to the second round.”
An early McGregor knockout would be the worst-case scenario for William Hill, which has a multi-million dollar liability on the Irishman.
“We are hoping that McGregor’s two-round knockout prediction with the smaller gloves doesn’t ring true,” William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. “As of today, it would be our worst result ever.”
McGregor uses 4-ounce gloves in the UFC.
“It helps give him a tiny better puncher’s chance and he is more comfortable with the smaller gloves,” Bogdanovich said.
William Hill has a prop, “Will the fight go at least two rounds?” No is plus-750, meaning a $100 wager would win $750. McGregor to win by knockout is plus-450.
At the Westgate sports book, McGregor to win in rounds 1-4 is listed at 7-1 odds. McGregor to win in round 1 is 20-1 and McGregor to win in round 2 is 25-1.
Mayweather welcomed McGregor’s challenge to fight in smaller gloves, writing on his Facebook account this month, “Let’s fight in 8 oz gloves. Whatever advantage McGregor needs to feel comfortable in the ring, I’m willing to accomodate. Let’s give the boxing and MMA fans what they want to see.”
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
