Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor Boxing Odds, Betting Analysis

A Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Conor McGregor boxing match seems like a major long shot, but if it does happen, one sportsbook pegs the MMA featherweight champion as a mammoth underdog.

The Twitter firestorm and breaking story by the Sun's James Beal and Matt-Heath Smith sparked odds on the Mayweather-McGregor rumored fight, and the retired, undefeated champion Mayweather is a whopping minus-2000 favorite over the briefly retired MMA featherweight champion.

“This fight is a long shot to happen, in my opinion, and McGregor is a bigger long shot if it does happen,” Bovada sportsbook manager Kevin Bradley told OddsShark.com Friday morning.

“Floyd has never really been hit his entire career against the baddest professional boxers in the world, so Conor will have to shock the world to even lay some leather on Mayweather.

“Our minus-2000 line on this speculative fight reflects those facts.”

Mayweather amassed a 49-0 record on the strength of a masterful defensive style that prevented him from absorbing many damaging punches over his career. Cynics may opine he was also masterful in avoiding dangerous matchups until his foes were past their prime, but that is a debate for a different time.

McGregor was slated to headline UFC 200 in a rematch of his UFC 196 loss to Nate Diaz. But when he balked at some promotional duties, the UFC yanked him from the card and elevated the light heavyweight title rematch of Jon Jones and Daniel Cormier to headliner status.

“This will probably never happen, but where there’s a financial will, often times there is a financial way,” said OddsShark.com expert Jon Campbell. “I think we saw in the Holly Holm upset of Ronda Rousey what happens when a many-times world championship boxer faces an MMA champion. Ronda was determined to prove her striking, and Holly machine-gunned her face with punches, before dropping her with a kick.” 

The mass interest in the rumored battle underscores boxing’s fading popularity in the post-Mayweather era. The Alvarez vs. Khan fight Saturday is the biggest fight of the year so far, and this rumor has dwarfed the mainstream sports interest in it.

Khan was listed as a plus-400 underdog as of Friday morning at most sportsbooks monitored by Odds Shark.