MALOOFS BET ON FLOYD – CONFIDENTIAL:
THE MALOOF is in the pudding. High-rolling Las Vegas businessmen Joe, Gavin and Phil Maloof have plunked down an $880,000 bet that Sin City boxer Floyd Mayweather will drop Irish cage fighter Conor McGregor in their Aug. 26 boxing match in Vegas. And according to Joe, he has some inside info.
“My brother Gavin is (Mayweather’s) neighbor and he’s known Floyd for six or seven years and Gavin’s gone to every one of his fights,” Joe told us by phone. After Gavin saw Floyd working out, he called Joe and suggested they get a piece of the action.
“He went over and watched him work out for maybe three hours and said ‘Floyd looks great — He looks like he’s 20 years old,’” Joe said. That’s when Joe, Gavin and Phil decided to put down the huge wager. If they win, they will give the winnings to charity, distributing the proceeds through their new company, Never Too Hungover, which markets an over-boozing remedy. If Mayweather, the heavy favorite, wins, the Maloofs should take home around $160,000, which they look forward to giving away. Of course if McGregor pulls off the upset, they’re out $880,000.
“We take all the risk,” Joe said. “If we lose, we lose. We’re big boys, we know how to take our losses.”
Not only does Joe think Mayweather will win, he expects it to be a short evening. “I don’t think it’ll go the distance. My opinion is maybe the third or fourth round for Floyd,” he said. “It’s like putting a hockey player against a speedskater. Maybe we’re wrong and we’ll pay our dues, but I don’t see it.”
That’s an interesting metaphor for Joe, who along with his brothers is an investor in the Golden Knights, a pro hockey team coming to Las Vegas in 2018.
All told, Joe and his brothers do want to see McGregor enjoy success in the ring.
“We wish him well in the future,” he said. “But not on this night.”