Heavyweight bets – the boxers who love a flurry
When it comes to the biggest names in boxing, most can rattle them off with barely a moments thought, but the likes of Tyson, Holyfield, Mayweather Jr, Fury and Pacquiao are also synonymous with a different pastime – that all of them are partial to a bit of betting, and big sums at that. But rather than just name them, let’s give you a little insight into some of their craziest stories:
Betting on Number One:
It wasn’t that long ago that two giants met in the ring, when Mayweather Jr and Connor McGregor went toe to toe – but what most may not know is that Floyd stuck a $400,000 bet on himself to win the fight. Lo and behold, when he did just that, a few smart bets across the night landed him around $800,000 in profit – not bad for a night’s work!
Shooting for the Hoops
Evander Holyfield may be one of the boxing greats, but he’s also a big fan of the NBA. One time, after betting over $350,000 on basketball games and a few boxing bouts, he walked away with over $827,000 thanks to a series of fortunate outcomes. His craziest however – losing almost all of his $150mn fortune to a series of contentious divorces and a big gambling habit.
Biting off more than he can chew
While most of the audience will remember Tyson for his ear bite and his huge tribal tattoo, he is a also a huge pigeon enthusiast. Back in 2010, TMZ investigated Tyson for illegal gambling on pigeons and since then, Tyson has done nothing to assuage his gambling habit. In fact, he has been quite open on his penchant for hitting the casinos and we wouldn’t be surprised if this continued for a while.
Who says the night has to end
Tyson Fury has also been a bit of a hothead, but when it comes to his love of casinos, not even boxing can get in the way. Rumoured to have been unwilling to let his night end after he fought Otto Wallin in Las Vegas, he decided to venture out to a local casino despite having 47 stitches placed after his victory. While most would be worried about a concussion, Fury had a great night drinking and gambling, even walking away with over $5,000 in his hand.
Nothing beats a bit of chicken
When it comes to gambling and betting, most of you think of punters hitting the sports odds or players taking a shine to a spot of online roulette wagering, but apparently cockfighting is a much larger sport than we realised. In fact, Manny Pacquiao was featured in a 2011 Sports Illustrated story, when he dropped a huge $360,000 bet on a single cockfight in the Philippines. However he doesn’t just stop there – and is well known for his betting habits on sports and his regular visits to casinos in Macau and Australia.
While there are a load more stories we could regale you with about how the boxing greats have spent some of their hard-earned cash, we thought we’d leave you there to check out our other articles and enjoy your day.
