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Weekly Q&A with Doc's Sports Expert Handicapper Raphael Esparza


by Doc's Sports - 8/22/2017

Mayweather vs. McGregor

The 2017 college football season gets underway this Saturday with a handful of games in advance of a full slate of betting action at Doc's the following week. In this week's discussion with expert handicapper Raphael Esparza, we will get his take on the four teams at the top of list when it comes to the national preseason rankings.

The former Vegas Sports Informer became one of the top sports handicappers in the nation during his many years in the Las Vegas sportsbook industry. He capped off a long and successful career as the Director of the Race and Sports Book for MGM Grand's Aria until his retirement in 2013. Raphael continues to split his time between his home base in Las Vegas and the Big Easy in New Orleans running a successful and diverse sports investment service. The following is this week's Q&A with one of Doc's most interesting handicappers.

Doc's Sports: We all know that the Little League World Series is one of your favorite sports betting events this time of the year. Now that you have had a chance to watch some of the early games in this year's tournament, can you give us the top two teams that you have advancing to the championship later this weekend?

RE: Right now both North Carolina and Canada have caught my eye as two teams that can make a run all the way to the championship. You still have teams such as Japan and New Jersey in the running, but things should really get interesting over the next few days.

Doc's Sports: Las Vegas has to be jammed with sports bettors in advance of this Saturday's highly touted bout between Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Conor McGregor. We talked about this mega betting event last week, and you were leaning towards the fight lasting longer than most boxing experts expect. The current odds in town favor the "under" 9.5 rounds, so are you still leaning towards the plus money on the "over" for this prop?

RE: In my opinion, this fight is a no-win situation for Mayweather unless he can knock out or TKO McGregor in the early rounds. He is expected to win this fight as one of the best boxers in the history of the sport, so the longer that McGregor can hang around, the worse it looks for Mayweather. That being said, I would make a small wager that this fight does go over that 9.5-round mark.

Doc's Sports: As a follow up to the last question, the betting public has driven down the betting odds for this fight since they first opened with Mayweather set as a prohibitive favorite. However, is there any way that you see McGregor pulling off a highly-improbable upset this Saturday night?

RE: Now that McGregor did get the green flag to use the UFC glove size in this fight, I would give him a fighter's chance to land a big left hand that could take down Mayweather. The money that is coming in on him is all from the betting public. The wise guys' money is still firmly backing Mayweather in this fight.

Doc's Sports : Both preseason national rankings (AP and Coaches Poll) have Alabama, Ohio State, Florida State and Southern Cal listed at the top of the list as the best four teams in the nation to start the year. Would these four teams be at the top of your list heading into the new season?

RE: I think the national polls got it right, but that initial top four list will change quickly with Alabama and Florida State butting heads in the first week of the season. Things would really get shaken up early if the Seminoles can find a way to win that game. USC will be an interesting team to watch given some of the Trojans' slow starts out of the gate in recent years.

Doc's Sports: We already know that this Saturday night's fight will be the biggest betting event in town this weekend along with some early college football games and the Little League World Series. Did we miss anything else that might be on your betting radar for this week?

RE : Another event in Las Vegas this Saturday is the Big3 Championship in basketball at MGM Grand, but I doubt I will have a play on that. I will be spending some time handicapping this Saturday's Travers Stakes as the centerpiece betting event for three-year old's during Saratoga's summer racing season.

Click here to visit Raphael Esparza's Insider's Page at Doc's Sports for more information on his amazingly-profitable sports handicapping picks. Also, get $60 worth of Esparza's member's picks absolutely free - no obligation, no sales people - you don't even have to enter credit card information. You can use this $60 credit for any sport Esparza handicaps. Click here for $60 worth of free picks from Raphael Esparza .

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