Bookies dodge Conor's blows on historic night for sports betting

Floyd Mayweather survived an early storm to beat UFC champion Conor McGregor in the tenth round in Las Vegas on Saturday night, and it was bookmakers who were cheering the loudest.

Despite starting the fight as a 4-1 underdog McGregor had been well backed by by punters across the world, who sensed an upset in a fight described as the biggest betting event in boxing history, and he touched 11-5 in-play with bet365 after a strong start.

“We feel like we have dodged a punch ourselves as a McGregor victory would have been a knockout blow for every bookmaker around the world,” said Coral’s John Hill.

Betway's Alan Alger said it was it one of our busiest and most profitable events in the history of the company.

“Some of the early rounds for McGregor had liabilities that would have produced a record loss on any market we’ve ever offered. Thankfully, in the end, we couldn’t have picked a better outcome,” he added, while bet365's Steve Freeth said: "We've dodged a massive one - it would have been our biggest sports payout ever".

Coral go 5-1 that there is a rematch in a boxing ring next year and BoyleSports quote 10-1 McGregor to come out on top, while Ladbrokes go 25-1 that the two will fight again under MMA rules.

McGregor did better than many predicted on his boxing debut and is 10-11 with Coral to fight as a boxer again, but he is likely to prefer a return to the UFC octagon.

Betway have priced up his next opponent and make MMA fighters Tony Ferguson and Kevin Lee favourites, with Mayweather 4-1 and new arch-enemy Paulie Malignaggi 20-1.