It's all name recognition. There was no hype leading into the Tyson / Douglas bout. Most didn't really know who he was at the time, and those deep in the sport who did, saw him as a talented boxer who had for the most part under-achieved in his career up until that point.

Odds in combat sports can be swayed by regional and popularity bias's. Years ago Bernard Hopkins was an underdog to Felix Trinidad. An idea that was kind of absurd to hardcore boxing fans, and in hindsight even more absurd........ but Trinidad had the bigger name and the bigger following at the time, which drove the betting.

Casual fans thought it was a huge upset when it happened. I was at a fight party and one guy declared it "up there with Tyson / Douglas", and I just shook my head. LOL!

Corbett was a tough as nails guy and a quality boxer at the peak of his skills who'd fought his way up the Pacific coast defeating fellow HOFers along the way. Sullivan was an alcohol addled shot fighter forced to use gloves after a bare knuckled career who had to go to camp to dry out. It isn't a good comparison.

Mayweather is always in shape and hasn't been seriously threatened in years. Connor will find that an elite professional boxer not only will weave rings around him but also hits very hard. I'd guess that he's never dealt with anything near that caliber of striker before in a ring. Plus he will have to chase Mayweather and that's not a game he's played before.

Man. . . not to be the board police for day . . . .but shouldn't this be on the Watercooler board for general sports chat. Seems like this is exactly what that other board is for.
OK, I'm now retired as board cop.

My pick!!
 

Call me crazy but I'm betting on Mcgregor tonight!!!

Come on McGregor!!!


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I would be surprised in McGregor lasts more than one minute, unless Mayweather deliberately extends it.

I don't understand the betting action for this fight at all. :confused: At some Vegas sports books, Mayweather has been bet down to just a 5-1 favorite. I know bettors should always be wary when something looks too easy, but how is betting on Mayweather here not free money? How is Mayweather not a 40 or 50 to 1 favorite here? The Tyson-Douglas fight was famously 42-1 -- if you could find a place to take action on the fight -- and Douglas was at least an actual boxer.

That being said, multiple bets of $1 million or more were put down on Mayweather in Vegas on Thursday, including a $1.2 million bet at -500. Even with the $1.2 million bet on Mayweather, William Hill's Nevada sports book still faces a seven-figure liability overall if McGregor wins.

I don't get the public betting the fight down to 5-1 odds on a non boxer. :confused:

http://www.espn.com/chalk/story/_/id...regor-showdown

The odds when first posted are what they feel is the chance of a fighter winning. All odds after that only reflect how people are betting. Odds are changed to insure the bookies make money and no longer have anything to do with who they think will win.

Oh, I completely understand how a betting line works, and that equal money on each side means that the bookmaker wins either way.

I guees I should have been more clear and said that I don't understand why the public has bet the fight down to 5-1 odds. Betting on a non-boxer against a top-notch pro (even one that is 40 years old) seems like lighting money on fire.

It was a good fight. I am surprised it went as long as it did.

Only because Mayweather didn't feel like ending it earlier, or was told not to.

If he had been facing a woman, it would have been over much quicker.


...or, at least that's his track record.



...and this thread should be on the water cooler

-

Mayweather is a showman and I can only guess he wanted people to feel like they got their money's worth in his last fight. Otherwise there was no reason for it to go on as long as it did. Once Mayweather got into gear it was obvious he was going to destroy McGregor. He beat him pretty easily once he turned it on.

Agreed mostly. However, there was a chance he could have got tagged/knocked out early on before mcgreggor punched himself out if he was as aggressive early on. If fact, he did get caught with a couple even playing it safe/defensive . I think k he played it perfectly.

I think a younger Mayweather would have made this a one round affair.

I have my doubts that he purposefully drug it out too long, it was ended when he felt that McGregor was sufficiently worn to avoid any surprise hits if he went on the attack. He was playing it safe to protect himself and the upset. It was a wise move for a 40 year old man who had not fought in 2 years.

Age is unavoidable, the punch stats showed that the greatest defensive boxer of all time is allowed to get old.

Floyd had only been knocked down once in his whole career and it was more or less a slip and fall that didn't get ruled as one. McGregor had no hope of knocking Floyd out. There was never going to be a one punch or lucky punch or anything like that.

Lucky punches are a myth, however if you have never watched before I suggest you watch the Walcott/Marciano fight if you want to see someone get destroyed and then come back with one of the most iconic knockouts in boxing to win.

Ask Tyson what happens when you come in unprepared to fight a gimme.

Mayweather showed his age and he luckily fought someone with very little technical skill. If he had come back to fight anyone in the top 10 he would have been destroyed.

I am happy to see him hang it up after a Globetrotters/ Rocky-Thunderlips type fight. I am hoping he keeps his word and does not drag it out.

As a boxing fan I was worried about this because if he did not take it serious and let the Buster Douglas type upset happen it would have been devastating to the future of boxing. Already with the money in professional sports keeping american blood out of the heavyweight ranks, the last thing we need is the lights and welters losing viewers to people moving to the MMA because they think its better. This was instead a great way to bring in a youthful viewership.

You bring up Walcott / Marciano and Buster Douglas, but those guys were professional boxers and number 1 contenders / champions. They shar enothing in common with McGregor. He had no hope.

Buster Douglas was the number one contender for the heavyweight crown. BIG difference.

Maybe they should arrange for the putt putt champion to take on Jordan Spieth. How about Serena vs. Nadal?

Buster Douglas was not the number one contender in any organisation. Holyfield was the unanimous number one and Douglas while in the top five (and ranked 7th by The Ring) was considered easy and running from Holyfield.

But no matter, I guess it means nothing because a world champion fighter in his prime stands no chance in hell of possibly upsetting a 40 year old boxer who has not fought in years.

Also, LeBron wouldn't stand a chance possibly of out catching Jerry Rice on a route tomorrow.

I would not have bet a red cent on McGregor because, yes he had a chance in hell. But he had a chance and it was all on Mayweather and his drive to conditioning.

If some oaf like Butterbean can go a full ten with Holmes, there was a chance.

Final words on that...I'm done.

Even Butterbean was a professional boxer though. Have you ever watched him box Bart Gunn, WWF wrestler? He almost killed him.

Bart Gunn was a total bad ass.

If I recall it was a one punch devastation.

On a side note I have been checking to see if any offers have been made on the Mayweather at $3,100 and none so far.

As someone who owns a copy in a PSA 10 I find it hard to believe 3k is where this settles. I would be thrilled if it stabilizes at $1,500.

All of this was a walk in the park for Mayweather. Did you see how he smiled at the camera? I just shake my head thinking about all the fools who threw their money at these guys - did you think McGregor stood a chance? He was fighting like a cat - what a joke the whole thing was! I would have loved to have seen Mayweather vs. GGG or Keith Thurman. I just hope we never see anything like this again.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/SQudKvrwDAU/maxresdefault.jpg

I don't expect that card will sell anywhere close to 3K despite the underbidder in PWCC supposedly bidding that. Funny he hasn't snapped it up yet if that bidding was for real and not two guys trying to pump up the market as we have seen so many times before in that venue. Based on the one selling for 900 just the other night (with a win over Conor essentially inevitable), and a BGS 9.5 going for 600 or so just a couple of nights before that, I think low 1000s is about right for this card, and 1500 would be strong indeed. I want one but certainly not buying into the present market.

The cats have better technique than MacGregor...

I watched Cotto-Kamegai instead, for no added cost on HBO, and was very pleased I did.

I think FMJ carried the fight in the first few rounds to let MacGregor wear himself out. Apparently, Floyd Sr. said something in the corner about "fourth round" and Jr. turned it on at that point. I watched on Youtube today and it was apparent that MacGregor, while able to take a hell of a beating, was way out of his depth. It was a sloppy pig of a bout, not at all technically proficient, with a ton of fouls. The stoppage was proper; I counted 16 unanswered punches (not all landed) before the stoppage.

I haven't watched a fight since Tyson nibbled Holyfield...I enjoyed this fight. I see NO Reason why Mayweather let this thing go 10 rounds. Each passing round, he danced more closely with the devil. In hindsight, if McGregor saved his energy for rounds 10-12, he could have won. mayweather's game plan worked...and boxing took a credibility hit by this going as long as it did. I'd go so far as to say McGregor could win a rematch with this experience under his belt.


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I could not disagree more. Floyd was never in the remotest danger. 49 professionals barely laid a glove on him, do you think this amateur really could have? Please. This was a boxing match, not a street fight.

That's all good...no idea why the fight had to go so long then...regardless, I enjoyed the bout and my opinion of McGregor rose. Guess you wouldn't agree that the ref called the fight to quick? If I'm McGregor, knock me out...oh well.


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Guys who are defenseless are at risk of serious injury, it was correct to stop it. I think Mayweather probably was told not to end it too quickly for commercial reasons. Also, he may have actually been enjoying himself and was content to linger a few extra rounds in his last ring appearance. With the difference in ring experience and intelligence, hand speed, and punching power, this was not a real contest IMO.

Bring on GGG vs Canelo already. No one is even talking about it. Now THAT'S a super fight.

Disagree, and have a little bit of amateur boxing experience myself. This was a real fight. I am not saying that I doubted for a minute than Mayweather would prevail, but the idea that he dragged this along for extra rounds for commercial reasons is ridiculous. Macgregor had a very effective jab. Didn't have much of a power punch. But he threw and landed a decent number of punches. And they were not the type of punches of the angles Mayweather is used to seeing. He is a marvelous defensive fighter but this was not what he has spent his career defending against. I think Mayweather was actually quite surprised to get punched in the face more than a few times. I think he realized Macgregor would run out of gas in about the 7th round and he backed off a bit and this is exactly what happened. But he wasn't doing it for commercial reasons. Last fight of his career. Would have knocked him out in the first round if he wanted to go off in a blaze of glory.

No he was doing it because he placed a rather large bet on himself to win in the tenth round

It's one thing to hit a man, another to hit him with a punch with anything behind it. I still think he chose the round. This was a win win. Floyd got his victory, MacGregor got respect for fighting what superficially looked like a decent fight, the fans and network got a reasonably long bout.

I saw the fight you just described!!! :)


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This is what I watched.I watched a 40 year old with a plan hit a young man in his prime at will. Floyd had a game plan and executed it perfectly on someone with almost no boxing skill.

It sounds like many people here enjoyed the fight. I thought it was complete garbage and should have been over much sooner. This was a sham, not a legit fight. MacGregor was constantly leaning in and leaving his chin open on weak jabs. Any offensive fighter would have ended it in the first round. I found nothing enjoyable about the fight except the stoppage. I haven't watched boxing in years because it's completely corrupt and nonsense like this happens, but if I paid for something like that "fight", I'd want my money back.

I just read an analysis that asked the question, why did it take Mayweather so long to end it, and concluded, because he wanted it to. I honestly don't know what other people are seeing here if they think it was at all competitive or even legit. Nevada never should have sanctioned this fight in the first place, but I am sure with so much potential revenue at stake from the spectacle pressure was brought to bear.

In my opinion it went so long because that was Floyds plan. Why take any chances when you don't have to. Conor is known for gassing, Floyd waited for it and then stopped the fight.

I agree that the Nevada Athletic Commission should have never let someone with almost no boxing skill at all get in the ring with a real professional. This fight(LOL) was all about the cash.

It seems like cardio got the best out of Conor. Floyd is in tremendous shape (even at 40) and knows what it takes to go the distance. Unfortunately for Conor, his inexperience as an 0-0 professional boxer caused him to burn out sooner then he would've liked. Other than that, I thought it was an entertaining fight from both fighters. And as a boxing fan, I have to give Conor respect for lasting as long as he did and not being completely outclassed the way many experts originally predicted.

I think what got the best out of Conor was that his skill level, hand speed and punching power were (as was obvious going in) completely inferior to Floyd's.

From my vantage point I think everyone comes out looking good. McGregor lasted a good amount of time. Mayweather avoided the upset and finished him. Both made a ton of money. The public seems to have enjoyed the fight and the lead up.

Mayweather cemented his legacy going undefeated. McGregor can return to MMA where he can use his arsenal with no damage done to his reputation.

I think the bigger issue is that MMA is at real cross roads. There are very few stars left and because the win loss records matter and the competition is so tough it is hard to create them. The use of performance enhancing drugs is an epidemic in the sport and I think popularity is waning. I used to never miss a PPV but can't recall the last one I bought. The Fertita brothers seemed to have sold at the perfect time.

First boxing match many young people ever watched. My 17 yr old was riveted. Problem with MMA is the fights often are over in the blink of an eye. You can't match the drama of a 10 or 12 round boxing match.

I agree with all that, my only objection from an admitted purist/snob perspective is to anyone who considered it a real fight. It wasn't. I am sure it went pretty much according to the plan you outlined above.

I see one of the copies that was recently listed just sold for 2k. Solid price.

2k, is that for one of the Topps Now cards they put out with Floyd's autograph?

I see now they are talking about doing a 3rd mma match with Nate Diaz and Conor. I wonder if they are going to do it at the 155lb weight class they both really fight at. I hope it is not another catch weight fight so they get casual fans to believe the BS that Nate is a much bigger fighter. All the hype surrounding Conor is as bad as the WWF. You do gotta give a guy with no boxing skill props for BSing his way into the most viewed fight in history though.

2k for a 1997 Brown's Boxing PSA 10.

Far more people love a spectacle than love a boxing match, it seems. And both men did a good job playing along and hyping it.

Mike Tyson thinks Macgregor deserves an A+ for the fight and should keep boxing, but folks on this board think he was a total bust. Oh well, opinions are like [FILL IN THE BLANK] as they say. Everyone's got one.

:) awesome. Everyone is a genius Steve.. duh....