Paddy Power punters back McGregor!

The 28-year-old Dubliner has been heavily backed by Irish and British punters despite never boxing professionally before.

Undefeated

Mayweather, who himself has never tasted defeat in 49 fights, hasn't captured the public's bets, with only just over 8% of wagers being placed on him. The one-sided nature of the fights opening markets has seen the Irishman's odds fall rapidly, with his initial odds of 13/2 tumbling to 4/1.

'Money' Mayweather remains the firm favourite, although his odds have drifted from 1/14 to 1/6.

Putting your money where your mouth is

Both fighters have garnered some four-figure bets, with one punter placing £5,000 on a Mayweather win at 1/6. The largest bet staked on the Irishman was £1,800 at 11/2. Many bookies are offering novelty bets too, with Paddy Power offering 12/1 on the likelihood of Conor McGregor throwing a kick.

A Paddy Power spokesperson said: “Nothing is predictable when it comes to McGregor and we didn’t foresee this level of support for him when we first set up the market. Normally, you would expect a heavy favourite such as Mayweather to attract the majority of the money through large wagers at short odds but this hasn’t been the case.
"Given the nature of the betting we’d be left more battered and bruised than any of the Dubliner native’s previous opponents should he upset the odds in August.”

Surprise Visit

Meanwhile, UFC Lightweight champion Conor McGregor showed up at Crumlin Children's Hospital on Saturday to visit patients and their families, as he took some time out of his training routine before his professional boxing debut against Floyd Mayweather Jr. in August.

McGregor will take on Mayweather in Las Vegas in what is being billed as 'the biggest fight of all time', but before that, the Crumlin native went to one of the hospital's meetings rooms to spend some time with some of the kids and their families.

Hospital patients that were able to leave their beds were allowed to go and meet the UFC superstar and pose with him for pictures, while the kids that were unable to leave their wards were sent 'get well soon' videos by the two-weight world champion.

About McGregor

Conor Anthony McGregor is an Irish professional mixed martial artist who is currently signed to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is the reigning UFC Lightweight Champion and former UFC Featherweight Champion. During his career, McGregor has competed as a featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight. He is known for being the biggest pay-per-view draw in MMA history, as well as his extravagant lifestyle and trash talking. In 2016, he was the first MMA fighter to crack into the Forbes top 100 highest paid athletes list at #85 with $22 million and was even higher in 2017, tied at #24 with $34 million in total earnings.