Floyd Mayweather Listed as Heavy Favorite vs Khabib in Opening Odds
By Cole Shelton in Boxing
Updated: April 14, 2020 at 6:36 am EDTPublished:
- Floyd Mayweather teased he is coming out of retirement in 2020
- Undefeated boxer said he was scheduled to box Nurmagomedov
- Is there any value on the UFC lightweight champion with opening odds listed at -1500?
Floyd Mayweather was recently spotted at a Boston Celtics game with UFC president, Dana White. He then took to social media to say he was coming out of retirement in 2020 and rumors started to swirl of who he would fight.
Floyd Mayweather vs Khabib Nurmagomedov Odds
Fighter | Odds |
---|---|
Floyd Mayweather | -1500 |
Khabib Nurmagomedov | +800 |
Odds taken Nov. 25
Many thought he would be a part of Zuffa Boxing where he would rematch Manny Pacquiao, or perhaps he would rematch Conor McGregor. Yet, Mayweather came out and said he was scheduled to box UFC lightweight champion, Khabib Nurmagomedov in 2020. Now, books have released odds on the potential fight.
@danawhite and I working together again to bring the world another spectacular event in 2020. #boxing#UFC#mma#mayweatherpromotions pic.twitter.com/Z5LIoaD3fW
— Floyd Mayweather (@FloydMayweather) November 23, 2019
Will This Fight Happen?
MMA fighters have been calling for boxing fights because the payday would be big. And, if Nurmagomedov got this fight, it would be the biggest of his career. Yet, I don’t believe this scrap will happen for a couple of reasons.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5J0IMTlUYt/
First, Nurmagomedov is not known as a boxer and is so dominant because of his wrestling and grappling. So, his best skill would be taken away from him. Secondly, we have seen this before in Mayweather vs. McGregor which was a much bigger fight because the Irishman is a true striker and known as a boxer. Even then he was still picked apart by Mayweather and lost by TKO, so I don’t believe Nurmagomedov stands a chance to win, and it would most likely be a worse beating than McGregor took.
Although many may point to the fact Nurmagomedov dropped McGregor in their UFC 229 bout, it was the fact that the Irishman was worried about the takedown and wasn’t focused on the striking. In a boxing match, Mayweather would only have to worry about Nurmagomedov’s punches which are not elite like his.
How Will the Line Change?
If this fight somehow happens, I suspect the line will become much more in the favor of Floyd Mayweather. The 42-year-old was a -3000 favorite against Andre Berto in what many expected to be his last fight before the money bout of McGregor happened.
Here, I think -3000 is roughly what it should be as Berto would have a better chance to beat Mayweather than Nurmagomedov does because he was actually a boxer. Not many boxing or MMA pundits would give Nurmagomedov much of a chance. And, why McGregor made the odds closer than they should have been, was because he was on a high of beating Eddie Alvarez and becoming the first-ever two-weight simultaneous champion in UFC history. He was also more popular than Khabib so MMA fans were betting heavy on him.
For Nurmagomedov, we saw what happened to McGregor so MMA fans would hesitate to bet on a worse striker to beat Mayweather. In the end, the odds will only increase if the fight ever happens.
Sports Writer
Cole graduated from Sheridan College in April of 2019 with a diploma in journalism. He now is a full-time freelance writer, focusing on MMA for sites like BJPENN, while also covering the Toronto Blue Jays as a credentialed media member. At SBD, Cole covers the four major sports and MMA.