Bettors finally begin to back Floyd Mayweather to beat Conor McGregor as odds shorten dramatically

The odds on a Mayweather victory have been lengthening all week, but big money has finally started to flood in on the American extending his professional record to 50-0

Floyd Mayweather’s super-welterweight fight with Conor McGregor is now only a few hours away and, after weeks of the odds on a shock McGregor victory shortening, serious money is beginning to roll in on the American preserving his undefeated record.

When the fight was first announced, McGregor was priced up as a massive underdog, resulting in a flood of smaller bets being placed on the Irishman to record a stunning upset victory.

That saw McGregor’s odds shorten dramatically over the last few weeks. But with the fight now just hours away, professional bettors have started backing Mayweather to the tune of millions.

Multiple $1m plus bets have been placed on Mayweather to win across the city of Las Vegas, including at the South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa, placed a $1m bet on Mayweather to win at -500.

That means the bettor will win $200k should Mayweather win as expected.

Huge bets have also been recorded at the MGM sports book — where somebody bet $1m on Mayweather to win at -550 odds — and at William Hill, where $1.2m was bet on Mayweather at -500.

Despite this late influx of huge bets on Mayweather to beat McGregor, Vegas is still set for an unprecedented loss should the Irishman somehow win his professional boxing debut.

“This is like hanging -3 on the Super Bowl and seeing the line move to -8,” Jay Rood, vice president of MGM Resorts race and sports, told ESPN earlier this week, before adding ominously: “This could be the worst loss in the history of MGM Resorts.”

“All I know is we're less than a week away from making a lot of money or getting [clobbered]," Nick Bogdanovich, director of trading at William Hill, added.

“I never dreamed in a million years that it would create this kind of frenzy.”