UFC Star Conor McGregor's Foray Into Boxing Twice As Popular For Bettors As Canelo-GGG Mega-FightNevada Sports Books Reap Benefits Of Irishman's Fight With Mayweather |
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MMA legend Conor McGregor’s first professional boxing match was about twice as popular in the eyes of gamblers as the more legitimate boxing mega-fight between Canelo Alaverz and Gennady “GGG” Golovkin.
McGregor drew Floyd Mayweather out of retirement for what many called an exhibition match because there wasn’t a championship belt on the line. Their Aug. 6 fight was followed by the Canelo-GGG bout on Sept. 16. Both events were in Las Vegas.
According to figures released this week by the Nevada Gaming Control Board, around $34 million was bet on the Canelo-GGG contest through the state’s regulated sports books.
That was about half of the roughly $70 million wagered on McGregor’s first attempt at a professional boxing match. McGregor is expected to return to MMA sometime next year for a title unification bout with the surging Tony Ferguson. It’s unclear if he will box again.
It’s worth noting that the betting handle for McGregor’s fight was about equal to what was wagered on Mayweather’s super-fight with Manny Pacquiao in May 2015.
The outcome of the McGregor bout was also much more lucrative for the sports books relative to Canelo-GGG. In August, they won nearly $20 million in the “other” category listed on the GCB’s monthly revenue report, which includes sports outside of football, baseball and basketball. They lost about $5 million on Canelo vs. GGG because of the controversial draw.
McGregor’s fight reportedly was also better than Canelo-GGG in terms of ticket sales and PPV buys. UFC President Dana White claims McGregor’s fight did a record 6.5 million buys.
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