Jake Paul’s unanimous victory over former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson might have been disappointing from a competitive standpoint, but it drew record betting.
BetMGM said the fight between the YouTube star and the 58-year-old Tyson, who showed his age by being a sitting target, was its most-bet boxing or mixed-martial arts fight. The sportsbook took three times the number of bets and four times the money of any combat sport in BetMGM’s history.
Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading at Caesars Sportsbook, said the fight was on par with an NFL Monday night game.
“We knew there would be tremendous interest in the fight, as the betting suggested it was a generational matchup in customer demographics,” Mucklow said. “Those old enough to remember a prime Mike Tyson got to live the nostalgia one last time, while those not old enough to know Iron Mike were firmly on the Jake Paul side of the counter.”
DraftKings sports operations director Johnny Avello said the fight also was its most-bet boxing match.
The amount of betting can’t necessarily be used to draw a direct comparison with betting on big fights in the past since so many major bouts, including Tyson’s biggest fights, occurred before sports betting was legalized beyond Nevada in 2018.
Most of the wagers at BetMGM Sportsbook were on proposition bets, with the most popular being on Tyson to prevail either by knockout, decision or a first-round KO.
Though Paul was a -175 favorite, 67% of the tickets and 53% of the money at BetMGM was on Tyson.
Men’s basketball
Kansas still a strong No. 1 >> Kansas strengthened its grip on No. 1 in the AP Top 25.
The rest of the top 10 turned into a jumble of teams swapping places.
The Jayhawks picked up five first-place votes in The Associated Press men’s college basketball poll, receiving 49 from a 61-person media panel. No. 2 UConn had seven first-place votes, No. 3 Gonzaga earned two and No. 4 Auburn three. Iowa State climbed two spots to round out the top five.
The shuffling started with No. 8 Alabama’s 87-78 loss to No. 6 Purdue, a game that dropped the Crimson Tide six spots and bumped the Boilermakers up seven. Losses by Duke and Arizona shook up the top 10 further.
Stanford’s Raynaud wins ACC award >> Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud has been named the Player of the Week by the Atlantic Coast Conference, marking the program’s first award in the new league.
Raynaud, who ranks second in the ACC in scoring (21.3) and first in rebounding (12.8) this season, has led Stanford to a 4-0 start. In wins over Northern Arizona and UC Davis, Raynaud averaged 27.5 points and 12.5 rebounds per game, including a career-high 33 points and 14 rebounds against Davis.
Women’s basketball
Little change at top of rankings >> The first 12 teams in the women’s AP poll, led by No. 1 South Carolina, were unchanged.
The Gamecocks remained the unanimous No. 1 team, receiving all 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. They routed their two opponents last week by an average of 36.5 points. South Carolina visits No. 5 UCLA on Sunday.
No. 2 UConn, No. 3 USC and No. 4 Texas followed South Carolina. No. 6 Notre Dame heads west to play the Trojans in a top-10 clash on Saturday. LSU, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Kansas State round out the first 10.
Stanford fell out of the rankings after losing at Indiana on Sunday.
NHL
Referee taken off ice on stretcher >> NHL referee Mitch Dunning was taken off the ice on a stretcher after he collided with Colorado defenseman Josh Manson at Philadelphia.
The NHL said Dunning is fully communicative and can move all his extremities following the violent collision.
The NHL said Dunning was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons and that all neurological signs are normal.
Manson skated alone on the ice when he slammed into Dunning early in the first period. Dunning went down in a heap and lay prone on the ice for several minutes before moving his feet.
Women’s soccer
USWNT resting its top stars >> The dynamic U.S. women’s national team trio of ex-Stanford star Sophia Smith, Trinity Rodman and Mallory Swanson need time to heal from nagging injuries and won’t travel for upcoming matches in Europe.
U.S. coach Emma Hayes left the three forwards, who were nicknamed “Triple Espresso” at the Paris Olympics, off the 24-player squad.
The team will face England at Wembley Stadium on Nov. 30 before visiting The Hague to play the Netherlands on Dec. 3.
College football
Florida Atlantic fires Herman >> Florida Atlantic fired coach Tom Herman with two games left in his second season at the school, neither of which resulted in a winning record.
The Owls were 4-8 last season and are 2-8 this season. Special teams coordinator Chad Lunsford will lead the Owls in their final two games. A search for the next head coach is already underway, the school said.