Mayweather, McGregor prepare to punch each other in the face

Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor.
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Brace yourself: The highly anticipated boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor will finally take place Saturday night in Las Vegas. The bout has been years in the making, stemming from a 2015 interview with Conan O'Brien in which McGregor said, "I would box [Mayweather] if the opportunity arose."

The spectacle may end up being the most heavily bet-upon boxing match ever. Millions of dollars are tied to the fight, ESPN explains: fees from about 4.6 million pay-per-view purchases; more than $72 million in ticket sales; about $600 million in total revenue. Bookmakers additionally expect to handle more than $60 million in wagers, topping the roughly $50 million received for the record-setting bout between Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao in 2015. Multiple $1 million bets were placed on Mayweather on Thursday, ESPN reports; while more bets have been placed on McGregor, more money overall has been wagered on a Mayweather victory.

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.