Bettors banking on Deontay Wilder to beat Tyson Fury

Deontay Wilder knocked down Tyson Fury twice in their first fight 15 months ago and nearly knocked him out in the 12th round of their controversial draw.

The betting public is banking on Wilder to win the rematch Saturday night in a heavyweight title bout at the MGM Grand Garden.

Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) is a -130 favorite over Fury (+110; 29-0-1, 20 KOs), who opened as a -130 favorite at the Westgate sportsbook.

“Most of the money and tickets are on Wilder. That’s why the price has moved up a little bit,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said. “I’ve seen some sharp guys bet Fury at +110. That seems to be the buy point. But the public is all over Wilder.”

Murray said he felt Fury won the first fight, when the Englishman barely beat the count to get up after he was knocked down in the 12th.

“I thought Fury was way ahead. It was very generous that they gave Wilder the draw,” he said. “Everybody considers Fury the better boxer than Wilder. It just becomes a question of will Wilder be able to knock him out, which he’s certainly more than capable of.

“Fury’s going to be ahead on points. The question is can he survive for 36 minutes. Fury can be up 10 rounds to 1 and Wilder can knock him out with one punch.”

The total for the fight is 10½ rounds. Over is -115 and under is -105.

“If this fight goes to the scorecard, I’m pretty sure you’ll see Fury win the fight,” Murray said. “Wilder’s not going to win a decision. He’s either going to knock him out or Fury will win by a decision. I don’t know if I’d invest money in Fury by knockout.”

Wilder has only one win by decision in his 42 career victories. But that hasn’t stopped bettors at the Westgate from wagering on that result at 10-1 odds on the method-of-victory prop.

“We have a little liability on Wilder by decision,” Murray said. “It’s strange to see 10-1 on a decision on a guy that’s favored.”

Wilder to win by a knockout or disqualification is the +125 favorite on the prop. Fury by decision is +175, Fury by knockout is 5-1 and another draw would pay 20-1.

Fury has predicted he’ll win by a second-round knockout. That would pay 40-1 on Westgate’s pick-the-round prop.

The most popular round props are Wilder in the first (40-1) and Wilder in the 12th (40-1).

“People remember he almost knocked Fury out in the 12th round of the first fight,” Murray said.

At William Hill sportsbook, 86 percent of the tickets and 61 percent of the money are on the under, and 67 percent of the tickets and 74 percent of the money are on Wilder.

MGM Resorts sportsbook also needs Fury despite taking a $40,000 wager on him at even money not long after betting opened on the bout.

“If the number continues to go higher, there’s tremendous value on Tyson Fury,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “He’s a guy that just keeps coming. Wilder’s a bigger puncher but in the heavyweight division, one punch from either guy can alter the fight dramatically.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.