Betting action on Mayweather fight down considerably

Wagers on Floyd Mayweather's welterweight title bout with Marcos Maidana on Saturday were significantly lower than Mayweather's fights have typically drawn, ESPN's David Purdum reports. 

"He's a draw, but it's not translating to the betting window," said Jay Rood, vice president of race and sports books for MGM, adding that Mayweather's rematch with Maidana attracted less than 50 percent of the betting action drawn by Mayweather's fight with Canelo Alvarez a year ago.

Purdum notes that the majority of the action was on Maidana's side, which makes sense - Mayweather was a heavy favorite, and most recreational bettors prefer to put up small amounts for the promise of a disproportionately large payout, rather than the inverse. 

Mayweather justified his billing with a unanimous decision victory that improved his career record to 47-0, but the betting downturn drastically diminished income for the sports books.

"We took a couple big bets on Floyd, but not as many as in the past," said John Avello, executive director of the Wynn Race and Sports Book. Rood echoed the same story, saying the MGM took a couple of six-figure bets on Mayweather, but not nearly as many as in previous fights.

"No big bets; no accumulation of small bets on the underdog. No interest," said Nick Bogdanovich, the director of trading at bookmaker William Hill, who called the betting handle on Mayweather-Maidana II "horrible." 

"Floyd's not the most popular guy," Bogdanovich added. "His fights aren't really exciting. People are tired of it."