Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor Rematch: Betting Odds Make Boxer Massive Favorite

By all accounts, Conor McGregor performed better than expected in his fight against Floyd Mayweather. Facing the greatest fighter of the last two decades in his professional boxing debut, the UFC star looked competent and even managed to win a few rounds before suffering a TKO late in the 10th round.

That doesn’t mean McGregor would have much of a chance in a rematch.

If the two fighters met in a boxing ring again, Mayweather would be a heavy favorite. The undefeated boxer has been given -2000 betting odds in a possible rematch, via OddsShark, and McGregor is listed as a +1000 underdog.

Those were essentially the odds given to both fighters when the idea of a super-fight seemed to be a real possibility late last year. The betting public was all over McGregor once the bout was announced in June, and his odds dwindled down to +300 at some sportsbooks Saturday night.

The knockout power that McGregor has showcased in the octagon, however, didn’t translate to the ring. Mayweather allowed the UFC lightweight champion to land the majority of punches in the first two rounds and wear himself out. McGregor’s power shots didn’t do much damage from the third round on as Mayweather controlled the final three-quarters of the bout and landed 59 more punches.

Coming out of retirement for his first fight in nearly two years, Mayweather scored a knockout for the first time since 2011. It was his first non-controversial knockout in a decade, and the same result would likely occur in a rematch.

According to Mayweather, a second bout is out of the question. Improving his record to 50-0 as he approaches his 41st birthday, the future Hall-of-Famer was adamant that he won’t make another return.

“This was my last fight tonight. For sure,” Mayweather told reporters. “Tonight was my last fight. Tonight I chose the right dance partner to dance with. Conor you are a hell of a champion.”

There are plenty of reasons to believe that Mayweather is actually done. Maintaining a perfect record has always been incredibly important to him, and doing so will be much more difficult in the future. While he handled McGregor, his age showed, and he’s no longer the world’s clear No.1 pound-for-pound fighter.

His defensive style of boxing has allowed him to avoid major injuries throughout his career. That might not be the case as his skills decline and he faces younger fighters.

Saturday’s bout might have pushed Mayweather past $1 billion in career earnings. He certainly doesn’t need another payday, having earned more money than any other athlete in history.

Then again, walking away from that kind of money isn’t easy. Mayweather retired two years ago after defeating Andre Berto as one of the richest athletes in sports. He’s admitted that he returned for the money, unable to turn down the chance to potentially make more than $300 million for a night’s work.

When the final numbers come in, Mayweather-McGregor will be the second-best selling pay-per-view in history, at worst. The fight could break several records, and it easily gave McGregor the biggest payday of his career.

Mayweather has come out of retirement twice before. Few would be surprised if he did it a third time for the right opponent.