Conor McGregor is sparring with former two time boxing champion Paulie Malignaggi as he prepares to take on Floyd Mayweather on August 26 and hand Mayweather his first defeat in the ring. When the ‘money fight’ was announced, the betting odds were hugely in favor of Mayweather who has a 49-0 record.
Odds Keep Changing For Money Fight
Oddsshark.com show that back in November 2016, which was before the fight was officially announced, Mayweather was the overwhelming favorite with a -2250 to McGregor’s +950. Those odds narrowed down with Mayweather getting a rating of -1200 to McGregor’s +650 in March 2016.
There were many ex-boxing greats and boxing analysts who did not give McGregor any chance at all because he is an MMA fighter and has no professional boxing experience. However as the weeks have gone by and the world promotional tour showcased the mind-games that the Notorious one has played with Mayweather, the odds have continued to reduce. Oddshark.com had Floyd Mayweather at -800 on June 14 and McGregor at +500 and then changed that to Mayweather -550 to McGregor’s +375 on June 26.
While Mayweather will still be the favorite, the odds are continuing to improve for McGregor as he continues to release details on his training camp. Former UFC Champion Dominic Cruz believes that McGregor could win against Mayweather but it would have to be during the first 6 rounds. Cruz believes that it will take Mayweather a few rounds to work out McGregor’s style and find his timing which will give McGregor a chance to go for a knock-out in the early rounds.
Malignaggi Believes McGregor Can Go The Distance
Paulie Malignaggi who is sparring with McGregor has done 12 rounds with the Notorious one and does not support Cruz’s theory entirely. Malignaggi said that he believes McGregor can go 12 rounds with Mayweather if he had to and while it is true that McGregor’s best chance is in the early rounds, it does not mean that he has no chance in rounds 6-12.
Malignaggi stated that what was important was to see what happened to Mayweather during those first 6 rounds. If McGregor managed to hurt Mayweather during the first six rounds, it could slow him down during the final rounds and give McGregor another opportunity to finish during rounds 8 -12. Mayweather is 40 years old and could slow down especially if he takes shots to the body.
Oddshark had the odds on July 12 at -500 for Mayweather and +350 for McGregor and those odds will continue to change as we get close to the ‘money fight’.
