"Pretty Boy" Floyd Mayweather Jr. (40-0, 25 knockouts) opened as a -400 favorite (bet $400 to win $100) to beat "Sugar" Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) in their welterweight showdown at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, May 1 but sportsbooks also are offering dozens of other ways to bet on the scheduled 12-rounder. HBO will offer the fight on a pay-per-view basis.
Like Mayweather, Mosley, the WBA 147-pound champion and +300 underdog (bet $100 to win $300) for this bout, tried to secure a fight with Manny Pacquiao, the acknowledged "pound-for-pound" champion, but negotiations stalled. There certainly will be enthusiasm for the winner of this contest to finally get a mega fight with Pacquiao later in the year.
First things first.
Mayweather, who has held world titles in five divisions, and Mosley, who has worn championship belts in three, seemingly have been destined to fight one another for over a decade. The confrontation almost came about in 2006 but the fighters took different paths.
Mayweather, 32, ended a self-imposed 18-month "retirement" in September of 2009 when he had little difficulty beating lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Mosley, 38, hasn't fought since January of 2009 when stopped Antonio Margarito in the ninth round.
In addition to straight man-to-man betting, gamblers also can wager on whether the fight goes over or under a prescribed number of rounds. In fact, when it comes to total betting, which is second only to side wagering in popularity, there are five options:
6 1/27 1/28 1/29 1/211 1/2
Over-1000-650-500-400-350
Under+ 700+375+325+275+250
Obviously, the lower the rounds proposition, the more you have to lay on the "over" but the better the price on the "under."
Gamblers also can wager on one of five possible outcomes of the fight. Lay -180 that Mayweather wins by decision; take +350 that Mayweather scores a KO, TKO or wins via disqualification; get +650 that Mosley wins a decision; take +750 that Mosley scores a knockout; or go for the longshot that the fight ends in a 12-round draw and get +3300.
Incredibly, there are at least three dozen more ways to bet on the Mayweather-Mosley fight, including either fighter winning by decision (-275) and, if it goes to the judges, what type of verdict will they render. For example, Mayweather by unanimous decision is -135 and Floyd by split decision is +350. Gamblers get odds of +1100 for a Mosley win by unanimous decision and the same +110 for a Shane win by split decision. A majority decision, where one fighter wins on two judges' cards and the third judge calls it a draw, is highly unlikely so you get +1600 on Mayweather winning that way and a whopping +6600 on Mosley earning a victory in that manner.
There's also a prop on what type of knockout either fighter will have. Mayweather winning by KO is +1200 and by TKO is +400. Mosley by count-out is +2000 and Mosley by referee wave-off is +1200. You can even bet if Mayweather or Mosley will win by their opponent retiring or getting disqualified.
The price is -175 that there are no knockdowns in the fight and +125 that either Mayweather or Mosley hit the canvas at least once. You can get +1100 that either Mayweather of Mosley is knocked down in the first round and +2200, which seems like a massive underlay if there ever was one, that both fighters taste canvas in round 1.
And, as if this wasn't enough to satisfy the most demanding boxing bettor, there are the usual round propositions. In single round props, you have to pick the fighter in the exact round. The potential payoff is enticing—odds of 40/1 to 66/1 on Mosley and 25/1 to 60/1 on Mayweather—but choosing the exact round of a knockout, if there even is one, is more guesswork than handicapping. And, of course, if the fight goes the distance, you lose.
Group round betting, where the gambler chooses a fighter in a three-round bracket, is a little more reasonable but the prices are lower, too. For example, if you like Mayweather to win via KO or TKO in round seven, eight or nine, you can get +1200. Mosley in the same three-round grouping is +2500. In addition to rounds 7-9, there are odds for each fighter winning in rounds 1-3, 4-6 and 10-12.
Given the wide range of wagering choices, boxing betting fans have no excuse for not getting a piece of the action on the Mayweather-Mosley fight.
