Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Deji Olatunji: Boxing Preview, Odds, Picks & Prediction (2022)
In his sixth exhibition match since quitting the sport professionally in 2017, one of boxing’s most popular figures will return to the ring on Sunday afternoon (2:00 PM EST) in Dubai. In this bout, YouTuber Deji Olatunji, who is 20 years younger than Maywather Jr. (45), will be the opponent.
While most real boxing fans aren’t even aware that this match is taking place, people who enjoy betting action are aware of it because the YouTube sensation is a significant underdog. Let’s take a deeper look at both fighters and speculate on how things might unfold on Sunday afternoon on the streaming service DAZN.
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Floyd Mayweather Jr. (50-0, 27 KOs) vs. Deji Olatunji (1-0, 1 KOs)
Since defeating Conor McGregor and ending his professional career at 50-0, Mayweather Jr. has engaged in five exhibition fights, winning all five of them. However, only two of those contests were recorded as genuine victories. Both took place in Japan at the Saitama Super Arena against local MMA fighters who weren’t exactly household names.
Additionally, this will be Mayweather Jr.’s second encounter with a YouTuber after he defeated Logan Paul in June 2021, albeit the outcome of that battle was never made official. Mayweather Jr. will have a slight size disadvantage due to his height of 5’8″, as he did for the majority of his professional career.
One thing “Deji†doesn’t lack is star power. He was formerly a popular YouTuber who later made the transition to acting, music, amateur boxing and now “professional†boxing. The Englishman, who is 20 years younger than his opponent and is two inches taller, will also have a size edge in this fight.
Deji, the younger brother of YouTube sensation KSI, followed in his footsteps by taking up boxing, but so far has had far less success losing all three amateur fights. Deji did, however, triumph in his first professional match against YouTuber Yousef Saleh Erakat in August.
Bottom Line
On Sunday, Deji will compete in his first main event against a genuine, albeit aging, professional boxer after competing in three co-main events. Given the mismatch, the odds for this fight are still limited in the marketplace, but as you would expect, Mayweather Jr. began as a huge -2000 favorite, with Deji coming in around +750.
While this is a ton of juice to place on a fight, there is no avenue in which Floyd Mayweather Jr. could lose this bout. On top of his ego, his skill level is so disparate anything more than a few rounds will be Mayweather Jr. allowing it.
Pick: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (-2000)
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