It is the most anticipated heavyweight title fight in decades and bookmakers across the country are expecting huge numbers from the rematch between WBC Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and the division's lineal champion, Tyson Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) of Manchester, England.
Wilder and Fury famously fought to a scintillating, albeit controversial, draw in their first tussle back on Dec. 1, 2018. That fight saw Fury build up a lead on the scorecards going into the 12th round before Wilder knocked him down for the second time in the fight.
Boxing, once the most popular sport among bettors in the world, has taken a back seat over the past 30 years, but when big fights like Wilder-Fury II come around — especially in Las Vegas — the action, at least at the betting window, matches the hype.
Betting Wilder vs. Fury II on Saturday? You can win $200 with BetMGM if the fight lasts one round.
Saturday Updates
11:59 p.m. ET: Just before fight time, a bettor placed $22,050 on Wilder to win in Rounds 7-12 at DraftKings. At +325 odds, the bet would win $71,662.50.
9:35 p.m. ET: More big bets are rolling in on either side of Wilder vs. Fury as the rematch approaches, including another six-figure ticket at MGM — this time it's on Fury with $190,000 at +105 odds to win $199,500.
FanDuel took big action on the other side of the moneyline with one bettor in Pennsylvania wagering $50,000 on Wilder at -124 to win $40,000.
5:15 p.m. ET: We've finally caught wind of a six-figure ticket for Saturday night's rematch between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. According to Elisa Richardson, the director of PR for BETMGM, a bettor at MGM put $135,000 to win $100,000 on Wilder at -135.
MGM, which is hosting the fight at its Grand Garden Arena in Vegas, also took several five-figure bets:
- $70,220 on Under 11 Full Rounds (-130) to win $54,000
- $52,875 on Under 11 Full Rounds (-115) to win $46,000
- $50,000 on Fury (+110) to win $55,000
- $50,715 on Wilder (-130) to win $39,000
- $26,000 on Fury (+115) to win $29,900
- $33,810 on Wilder (-130) to win $26,000
- $33,810 on Wilder (-130) to win $26,000
Those bets are in addition to the slew of five-figure wagers we reported at MGM earlier this weekend:
- $40,000 to win $40,000 on Tyson Fury (+100)
- $36,000 to win $30,000 on Deontay Wilder (-120)
- $33,000 to win $30,000 on Deontay Wilder (-110)
- $25,000 to win $19,225 on Deontay Wilder (-130)
- $12,500 to win $10,000 on Deontay Wilder (-125)
- $10,000 to win $9,090 on Deontay Wilder (-110)
MGM isn't the only sportsbook seeing the action start to pick up. Jimmy Vaccaro tweeted that the South Point took a $10,000 bet on Tyson Fury at +122.
Friday Updates
1 p.m. ET: According to MGM's Elisa Richardson, Wilder (-110) is attracting 79% of the tickets and 82% of the dollars as of Friday afternoon, but we expect those numbers to even out as Fury's swarm of traveling fans from England land in Las Vegas closer to the fight.
William Hill's action is also heavily slanted towards Wilder so far, with 67% of the tickets and 74% of the money backing The Bronze Bomber, who currently sits at -125 on the monyeline.
As far as big bets, Richardson said that MGM has taken six wagers of at least $10,000 as of Friday afternoon:
- $40,000 to win $40,000 on Tyson Fury (+100)
- $36,000 to win $30,000 on Deontay Wilder (-120)
- $33,000 to win $30,000 on Deontay Wilder (-110)
- $25,000 to win $19,225 on Deontay Wilder (-130)
- $12,500 to win $10,000 on Deontay Wilder (-125)
- $10,000 to win $9,090 on Deontay Wilder (-110)
MGM also reported the splits for their menu of props and it's no surprise to that Wilder's power is the story of these markets. The most popular bet, in terms of both ticket and total dollars, in the "Method of Result" market is Wilder To Win By KO/TKO/DQ (+120). That bet has earned 40% of the ticket share and 49% of the dollar share for this market.
Wilder To Win By Decision (+800) is next with 20% of the tickets and 23% of the dollars, while Fury To Win By KO/TKO/DQ (+450) is currently attracting 20% of the tickets and 14% of the dollars.
The most interesting takeaway from this market is the lack of action on Fury To Win By Decision (+175). Most boxing experts think Fury's only chance to win this fight is by beating Wilder on the cards, so it's noteworthy that only 9% of the tickets and 10% of the money is on Fury by Decision. The remaining 9% of bets for this market are on the draw (+2000).
Most Popular Prop Bets by Ticket Count (MGM):
- Wilder in Round 1: 13%
- Wilder in Round 10: 5%
- Wilder in Round 11: 3%
- Wilder in Round 8: 6%
- Wilder in Round 12: 7%
- Wilder by Decision: 10%
- Wilder in Round 9: 4%
- Draw: 9%
- Fury Round 1: 3%
- Fury by Decision: 6%
Most Popular Prop Bets by Total Handle (MGM):
- Wilder in Round 6: 9%
- Wilder in Round 5: 9%
- Wilder in Round 9: 8%
- Wilder in Round 8 and Wilder in Round 1: 8%
- Wilder by Decision: 7%
- Wilder in Round 10: 7%
- Wilder in Round 7: 6%
- Wilder in Round 11: 6% Fury by decision
- Wilder in Round 12: 5%
- Draw: 4%
