Odds on Conor McGregor beating Floyd Mayweather continue to tumble

A huge amount of money has been placed on McGregor upsetting Mayweather, with one UK-based punter backing the Irishman to the tune of £100k

Floyd Mayweather’s $1bn fight with Conor McGregor is now less than a week away, and the Irishman’s odds continue to shorten.

When the fight was first announced back in May, Mayweather opened as the overwhelming favourite to defeat McGregor. Which is entirely unsurprising, given that Mayweather boasts a flawless professional boxing record of 49-0, while McGregor is a complete boxing novice.

But the initially long odds on a McGregor victory have started shortening over the past few days, in particular when the Nevada State Athletic Commission announced that the fight would take place with 8oz — rather than standard 10oz — boxing gloves.

A huge amount of money has started being placed on McGregor over the past week, with the UFC star’s odds in the United States tumbling from +950 to +325 over the past few weeks.

And, according to OddsShark.com, McGregor’s tumbling odds mean that betting on Mayweather to win at the current rate provides better value than every one of his previous fights dating back to 2011 — with the exception of the Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez contests.

That means McGregor is now less of an underdog than the likes of Miguel Cotto, Zab Judah, Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz and Marcos Maidana (twice).

McGregor’s odds have also been slashed in the UK — down from the likes of 11/2 to 3/1 — with one Londoner even placing a £100k bet on the Irishman to emerge victorious.

“It has become clear that the gamblers’ money is on McGregor. While Mayweather is still the favourite, bettors have overwhelmingly backed the MgGregor to win with odds having been cut in half,” said Alexander Kostin from the website Bet-bonuscode.co.uk.

Does McGregor have more of a chance than Berto did? (Getty)

“It’s all a bit mad: The fact that one of the best boxers of all time is largely friendless in this fight against someone who has never stepped foot into a ring as a professional,” he added.

“Everything logical says that Mayweather should win but the betting industry is definitely nervous about an upset that could become very very expensive.”

The fight has been something of a godsend to bookmakers the world over, with Betfair confident that over £100m will be placed on the contest before Saturday.

And significant amounts of money continue to be placed on McGregor to stun Mayweather, even though the American has never before been defeated in the ring. Betsafe are offering new customers the chance to back the Irishman at odds of 49/1, for example.