On a Saturday highlighted by college football conference championship games, the heavyweight title fight between Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury was generating the most buzz — and the biggest bets — around Las Vegas.
MGM’s sportsbook reported taking a $170,000 bet on the favored Wilder at -170 odds, and Caesars Palace said Saturday morning that the decision on the fight was larger than any of the day’s football games.
Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs), the WBC champion, was as high as a -180 favorite in Las Vegas, with Fury (27-0, 19 KOs) listed as a +150 underdog.
“We need Tyson Fury more than any of the football games,” Caesars Palace risk manager Jeffrey Davis told ESPN.
More money had been bet on the fight than had been wagered on any of the day’s college football games at William Hill’s Nevada sportsbooks, where 82 percent of the money was on Wilder, including a $35,000 bet at -175 odds placed in November.
Heading into the afternoon, sportsbook operator CG Technology said it also needed Fury in the fight, thanks in part to three bets on Wilder from the same customer totaling $71,500 that would pay approximately $40,000.
The fight is slated for 9 p.m. ET, Saturday at Staples Center in Los Angeles. It will be shown on Showtime pay-per-view.
“We have really had a lot of two-way action on the fight,” SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas director John Murray said. “[There’s] a lot of money in the pool.”