For many people, Las Vegas will feel like the center of the universe on Saturday, when Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor finally step into the ring for their supremely hyped boxing match.
They are two bold, outspoken, controversial stars, both of whom have had enormous success in their respective sports and command the attention of fight fans and casual viewers alike. It’s Mayweather’s skill, expertise, defense and precision against McGregor’s puncher’s chance and relentless self-belief.
While the superfight could go wrong in so many ways—a drawn-out defensive battle, a Mayweather cakewalk or perhaps sullied by a foul—fans plunking down nearly 100 dollars can take comfort in knowing they are getting some extra value on the main event undercard.
Though none of these fights are especially remarkable in their own right and could be featured on just about any other card, they could prove to be entertaining.
Here’s the viewing info for fight night and a look at the undercard and latest online odds, courtesy of OddsShark.com (as of Saturday, August 26 at 9 a.m. ET).
Mayweather vs. McGregor Fight Info
Date: Saturday, August 26
Time: 9 p.m. ET (main card)
Location: T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
TV: Pay-per-view ($99.95) Showtime
Live Stream (pay-per-view): UFC.tv, ShowtimePPV.com
Mayweather-McGregor Undercard Odds
Badou Jack (-400, bet $400 to win $100) vs. Nathan Cleverly (+300, bet $100 to win 300), light heavyweight
Andrew Tabiti (-325) vs. Steve Cunningham (+250), cruiserweight
Gervonta Davis (-5000) Francisco Fonseca (+1400), junior lightweight
Gervonta Davis (18-0, 17 KOs), an undefeated rising star out of Baltimore, will forfeit his IBF World super featherweight title after failing to get under the 130-pound weight limit, per the Baltimore Sun‘s Childs Walker. Davis is a powerful 22-year-old southpaw who has established himself as something of a knockout artist in his young career, but he’s set himself back a bit here in Las Vegas.
Bloody Elbow’s Mookie Alexander pointed out that Davis needed “three attempts to make weight for his first title defense against Liam Walsh back in May.”
A too-heavy Davis will seemingly carry extra power into the ring against his opponent, Francisco Fonseca (19-0-1, 13 KOs), another undefeated young pro out of Costa Rica. The oddsmakers heavily favor Davis in this bout. A good showing will make some forget about the early-career weight issues, but he’s going to have to show more discipline (or more likely, just bump up a weight class or two) as he moves forward. In any case, Davis should win this one with a mid-round knockout.
For people who want to see a couple big fellas slug it out, Andrew Tabiti has you covered when he takes on Steve Cunningham in a cruiserweight contest.
Tabiti is the favorite here, as he puts his NABF cruiserweight title on the line and looks to pick up the division’s vacant USBA strap in the process, per BoxRec. Tabiti has an 85 percent KO rate in 14 pro bouts, making the 27-year-old Chicagoan a good bet to delight fans with some thunderous punching.
Cunningham is an aging journeyman pro, with eight losses in his career and just 13 knockouts in his 38 career fights. Cunningham has also been knocked out once, by Tyson Fury in 2013. The 41-year-old does sport an 82-inch reach, per BoxRec, which could be useful in keeping Tabiti at bay. He’ll likely have to be at the top of his defensive form and show great stamina if he is to pick up a win on Saturday night. Look for Tabiti to come through with a late-round technical knockout.
The contest between Badou Jack and Nathan Cleverly promises a good bit of action. These are two pros who have both won some entertaining fights, and Saturday’s meeting is made all the more intriguing as it sees Jack bump up to the light heavyweight division after having world-title success in the super middleweight ranks.
Jack is going after Cleverly’s WBA world light heavyweight title, which the latter won off Jurgen Braehmer last year. Cleverly hopes that winning this bout on such a prestigious stage will elevate his career.
“Now we’re back here, on the big stage, in a big fight, with massive pressure, and I love it,” he said, per ESPN.com. “This will be my best ever win. The winner goes on to be elite.”
For his part, Jack doesn’t appear unfazed by the move up to a bigger division, and he appears to be looking for a brawl, per Showtime Boxing:
Jack is a crafty, hard-punching opponent who has picked up fine wins against the likes of George Groves and Anthony Dirrell. This bout is going to be a tough contest, and it has great potential as a scene-stealer before the main event.
In the end, look for Jack to eke it out on points, though a late-round knockout for either boxer is also in the cards here.
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