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Las Vegas books staring down Mayweather-McGregor disaster
NY Post ^ | August 22, 2017 | Howie Kussoy

Posted on 08/23/2017 7:49:28 AM PDT by C19fan

People are putting their money where Conor McGregor’s mouth is.

Though McGregor isn’t expected to leave his first professional boxing match a winner this weekend, if the brash UFC lightweight champ is somehow victorious, Floyd Mayweather Jr. won’t be the biggest loser in Las Vegas.

Despite the overwhelming consensus from experts that the 29-year-old Irishman has little chance to beat the undefeated boxing legend this weekend, bettors are overwhelmingly in McGregor’s corner — accounting for 89 percent of all action, according to BetOnline.ag — and could be setting the city’s sportsbooks up for one of its darkest days ever.

(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...


TOPICS: Society; Sports
KEYWORDS: boxing; gambling; lasvegas; mma
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To: Skooz

I remember that fight. My friend did the same thing, except he got to see the TKO.

There were about 30 people at the house, food, drinks, etc and it was over in an instant.


21 posted on 08/23/2017 10:42:07 AM PDT by hattend
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To: circlecity

Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see how McGregor has a chance. I know he’s a great MMA fighter, but he has to forego his best skills against the best boxer in the world.


22 posted on 08/23/2017 11:27:25 AM PDT by Repealthe17thAmendment
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To: Repealthe17thAmendment

Certainly I think McGregor is a big underdog but his “best skills” are his left hook and his left cross. Without a doubt.


23 posted on 08/23/2017 11:31:29 AM PDT by circlecity
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To: dfwgator

"You killed the other boxing man..."

24 posted on 08/23/2017 11:39:43 AM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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To: All
To: TheTimeOfMan
"The author has no understanding of how this type of gambling works. Book makers adjust the odds such that it’s all a wash - and then they take their vig off the top. Bookmakers do not gamble - they just manage a pool of money that they take a cut from. Just like stock brokers.

And they laugh all the way to the bank."

And the stock market never crashes because the bookies ... I mean the brokers never get it wrong, right?

According to the Nevada gaming commission, Vegas sports books lost $8.5 million on football in January of 2017. Even worse was November of 2005, when they went $11.2 mil in the hole.

So they don't always get it right. And right now they've dug themselves a mighty big hole because >80% of the money is coming in on the 3-1 underdog. They haven't yet created the vig that'll cover that wide of a margin, so unless they shorten the odds enough to send gamblers scrounging through their sock drawers and sofa cushions in search of Mayweather money, Saturday night in Vegas could get might wet (because the bookies all will be taking baths).
25 posted on 08/23/2017 12:01:05 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: PUGACHEV; Skooz

The grandfather of a boyhood friend of mine actually went to Ali-Liston...decided to make a fast restroom run before the fight started.

Heard the bell ring, heard the roar, never saw a thing.


26 posted on 08/23/2017 12:01:18 PM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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To: Repealthe17thAmendment

“Maybe I’m missing something, but I don’t see how McGregor has a chance. I know he’s a great MMA fighter, but he has to forego his best skills against the best boxer in the world.”

He’s not an MMA fighter. He’s a boxer who chooses to fight in MMA. He couldn’t earn a living with his limited grappling skills alone but (Luck ‘O the Irish) he’s got TNT in his left hand. All but three of his 21 professional wins came by TKO/KO, and all but one of those 18 came from punches (the one exception was an elbow strike). Thirteen of them ended in the first round. He’s never lost a fight when he managed to stay off the canvas.

And I think it’s short-sighted to have such a vaunted view of boxing. To say an MMA fighter can’t also be an excellent boxer is like saying Bo Jackson can’t be good at both football AND baseball. It’s nonsense. And MMA is like the decathlon of pugilism, it’s every form of (empty handed) martial art rolled into one. The people who excel at either decathloning or boxing usually either are super-dominant in a few of the disciplines, or very good in all of them. And one of the disciplines on offer to MMA is ... guess what? ... boxing. So it’s not like McGregor has never encountered boxing techniques before, because he has.

He’s a one-trick pony. He knocks people out with his left hand. Steel cage or square ring, a knockout is a knockout.

But as the saying goes, when the enemy is in range, so are you. You don’t get the opportunity to knock out your opponent without coming into his range. I read drivel about how quick Mayweather is. He’s 40 years old fer cryin’ out loud, you can’t be dense enough to think he wasn’t faster when he was McGregor’s age than he is at 40.

And McGregor is cat-quick. You don’t hear much talk about his speed but it’s easy enough to tell because he never covers up, and he rarely gets hit. You can’t have both those things happen in combination UNLESS you’re exceedingly quick. Frankly, the way he slips punches reminds me a lot of Ali in his prime. He just bobs and weaves and rarely gets tagged.

One key element to his success as a puncher is his ability to get within range of his enemy’s weapons and deliver his bombs without himself getting hit. Just like Ali.

Plus he’s 12 years younger than Mayweather, at least 15-lbs heavier when they step into the ring, an inch taller with two inches more reach. He knocks people out for a living, and he’s darned good at it. Only now he gets to try it with 8-oz gloves, rather than his usual 4-ouncers.

Mayweather is famed for his jab, and IMHO, that better work, and work well, or it will be a very short fight. Because it remains to be seen whether he even can manage to hit McGregor (with authority). But even IF he hits him, he can’t knock him out. He’s got no power left. Half of Mayweather’s professional knockouts came before his 22nd birthday. He’s only scored two KOs/TKOs since he turned 30 (not including the women he’s beat up). And McGregor has a thick Irish skull. I doubt Mayweather could knock him out with a 20-ounce roofing hammer.

Which (if I’m right) means that Mayweather only can win if it goes to the judges. This is where I’m obliged to mention that ALL of Mayweather’s last seven fights went to the scorecards, and he only won two of them on split decisions.

But McGregor is going to be spending those 36 minutes looking for that one misstep, that one half-second opportunity that will let his left get through. Mayweather, OTOH, has to plan to spend those 4,320 half-seconds without so much as once presenting McGregor that one opportunity he’s looking for.

Plus, McGregor has 49 fights worth of scouting reports on Mayweather. OTOH, Mayweather has this many boxing scouting reports on McGregor: 0. One of these two fighters knows every trick in the other’s arsenal. The other fighter is flying blind.

That’s why I know McGregor has a chance.


27 posted on 08/23/2017 1:23:01 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: Paal Gulli
"...The people who excel at either decathloning or boxing ..."


I meant, " ...either decathloning or MMA ... "
28 posted on 08/23/2017 1:27:03 PM PDT by Paal Gulli
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To: pepsi_junkie

They once said the Tyson ruined PPV for boxing. People stopped paying to watch Tyson destroy some guy in 2 rounds. Then along came Buster Douglas.


29 posted on 08/23/2017 1:27:34 PM PDT by shotgun
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To: Paal Gulli

For sure McGregor can win and I hope he does. I am a fan of his braggadocio and mouthing off. He undergoes some very unique training. He likes to talk but he is dead serious when it comes to training.

Mayweather being 12 years older..... a major negative. for Floyd


30 posted on 08/23/2017 1:39:53 PM PDT by dennisw (Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. The third time it is enemy action.)
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To: C19fan

McGregor has already won the fight...he’s a MMA fighter getting paid seven figures to box.

He even has his next fight lined up...a ranked boxer who McGregor knocked down during a 12 round sparring match is demanding a shot at him.


31 posted on 08/23/2017 1:54:20 PM PDT by mac_truck (aide toi et dieu t'aidera)
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To: Paal Gulli

Thanks for the insight. It should be more interesting than I first thought!


32 posted on 08/23/2017 2:09:54 PM PDT by Repealthe17thAmendment
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To: Paal Gulli

Excellent analysis.

From the ancient Greek perspective, this is entirely Mayweather’s fight to lose. Look for 49-1 as payback for hubris.

Even Achilles had a bad heel.


33 posted on 08/23/2017 5:32:38 PM PDT by nicollo (I said no!)
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To: C19fan

The Irish loudmouth has a puncher’s chance. The 40 year Mayweather could walk into a wild punch and get knocked out. I doubt it’ll happen but stranger things have happened, especially with that kind of money involved. No one gave Leon Spinks a chance to beat Ali, but it did. Then Ali got the chance to fight him again and become the only fighter to win the title for the third time. He completely destroyed Spinks, which makes me think the first fight was a set-up. I also remember an unknown name Buster Douglas knocking out Tyson. And I remember Marvin Hagler beating Leonard then getting rob’s of the decision. But in a fight between a real boxer and an MMA fighter the MMA fighter can’t kick and wrestle so he loses. In Mayweather’s case you can’t hit him, so like I said the Irish loudmouth has no shot unless Mayweather walks right into a haymaker, sort of like the punch that Hagler used to knock out Hearns, who turned his face for a split second, didn’t see the punch coming and was knocked out cold.


34 posted on 08/25/2017 9:05:17 AM PDT by NKP_Vet ("Man without God descends into madness")
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To: Paal Gulli

“and he rarely gets hit.”

He’s lost three times.


35 posted on 08/25/2017 9:10:04 AM PDT by NKP_Vet ("Man without God descends into madness")
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To: nicollo

“Look for 49-1 as payback for hubris.”

I seem to remember Larry Holmes saying Marciano couldn’t carry his jockstrap and all the experts were saying 48-0 Holmes was going to destroy skinny Michael Spinks, tie Rocky’s record of 49-0, then break it in his next fight. Well we all know what happened. Skinny Marvin Spinks beat him, then beat him again.


36 posted on 08/25/2017 9:17:59 AM PDT by NKP_Vet ("Man without God descends into madness")
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To: BlueStateRightist

exactly- would like to see them fight for around 5 million- 350 million is too much temptation to rig the fight- Won’t be able to trust a decision either way- even with a ‘knockout’ you will have to suspect play acting-


37 posted on 08/26/2017 11:14:19 AM PDT by Bob434
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To: pepsi_junkie

[[The tomato can Tyson was fighting was some loser named Buster Douglas.

Turned out that was actually worth it.]]

was an excellent fight- saw it later for free- tyson ‘supposedly had’ the flu for that fight- but buster just really outfought him- I suppose tyson coulda been a bit off his game- but buster was 100% on his game-


38 posted on 08/26/2017 11:19:29 AM PDT by Bob434
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To: C19fan
“bettors are overwhelmingly in McGregor’s corner — accounting for 89 percent of all action,”

Which is why this stunt is happening.

39 posted on 08/26/2017 12:05:50 PM PDT by Vision (Evil is powerless if the good are unafraid - Reagan)
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To: Vision

So, what is happening with the McGregor - Mayweather fight now?


40 posted on 08/26/2017 8:18:22 PM PDT by MeneMeneTekelUpharsin (Freedom is the freedom to discipline yourself so others don't have to do it for you.)
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