Betting public backing Mike Tyson in return vs. Jake Paul - ESPN

The betting public is overwhelmingly siding with Mike Tyson for Friday's fight against Jake Paul that bookmakers say is on pace to be the most heavily bet boxing match in years.

The odds have been drifting toward Tyson this week, with sportsbooks reporting upward of 90% of the bets being on the underdog. Tyson, 58, has moved from +225 to +175 this week at ESPN BET, where Paul, 27, is listed as a -225 favorite.

The eight-round, sanctioned fight takes place Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and will be broadcast on Netflix.

DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told ESPN on Thursday that it had taken two $500,000 bets on Paul to win.

«As we got closer to the fight, we've started to see a lot of small bets on Tyson,» Avello said. «Took a couple of big bets on Paul, but it's not going to overcome all the bets on Tyson.»

BetMGM said in a release Tuesday that it expects Tyson-Paul to be the most bet-on boxing match in the online sportsbook's seven-year history, and Andrew Babakitis, a risk manager for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas who oversees fight odds, said he has been shocked by the betting interest.

«It's pretty surprising to see how many people are still willing to take a shot on Mike Tyson at this age,» Babakitis told ESPN on Wednesday.

Babakitis said the SuperBook had taken «several six-figure bets» on the fight, all of them on Paul. Big bets on Paul also showed up before the fight was postponed from July 15 to Nov. 15 due to a health issue with Tyson. The odds on the fight were in the same range before and after the postponement.

Avello was a bookmaker for the 2017 Conor McGregor-Floyd Mayweather boxing match in Las Vegas, a fight that drew record betting interest, including five reported