Betting on Boxing: Everything you Need to Know

Boxing is one of the oldest sports on the planet. The first official boxing competitions date back in 688 BC and were held at the ancient Olympic Games. Boxing is extremely popular all over the world to this day due to its passion, full dedication of fighters and wide coverage.

The spectacle of this sport is hard to overestimate, as well as how many bets are placed on boxing around the world. Its really no wonder why some boxers are considered the richest people in the world - their fees are in the millions, partly because of the popularity of boxing betting.

At the same time, it is worth distinguishing between professional boxing and amateur boxing. This article will look at the professional sport, as it is more accessible for betting. Amateur boxing appears in the betting lines mainly during the Summer Olympics.

Types of Lines in Boxing Betting

Betting on the Outcome - In boxing, as in any competition, there is a winner and a loser. Betting on which fighter will end up as each is the main type of bet. Often in the boxing betting lines there is only one market (victory of either the first or second boxer).

In the past, there was the danger of rigged fights (rarely). However, this was thought to be more heavily practiced in the 1930's to 1950's, but has not recently been newsworthy. 

In boxing betting lines it is worth paying attention to the presence of a draw. If there isn’t one, it is better to see the rules of the sportsbooks- how it calculates the bet in boxing, if there is a draw (judges decision).

Round Boxing Betting. In professional boxing there are usually 12 rounds. Round boxing betting can be done in multiple ways. The most common is a bet on how many rounds the fight will last.

If we have strong knockout fighters in front of us, there may be only a few rounds. If there are lightweight, more technical fighters in the ring then the fight could go the full 12 rounds. 

There may be bets for specific periods of rounds as well. For example round increments, such as the fight will last for 1-3 rounds, 1-6 rounds, etc. In live betting especially, other round bets in boxing can include which fighter will win the next round or will there be a finish in the next round or not.

Betting on How the Fight Ends. A boxing match can end in several ways: a knockout victory, a TKO victory (the opponent cannot continue the fight), disqualification of the opponent, the opponent's refusal to continue the fight, on points or from the technical decision of the judges.

In this betting category, it is better to study the rules of the sportsbooks - how it will evaluate a particular ending to the fight.

Other bets on boxing appear in big fights for titles. Here you can bet on the outcome of each particular round or on which round the fight will be completed. Additionally, some sportsbooks are ready to offer extended betting options, such as which of the boxers will be knocked down and in which round.

Betting on Boxing: Odds and Underrated Tips

The strategy of betting on boxing at first glance may seem simple: there is a favorite, there is an underdog, and in the betting lines everything is made quite clear in this regard. However, do not quickly get overconfident, sportsbooks would not offer bets on this sport, if it was so predictable.

Boxing Betting Odds on the Underdog are Often Overstated

Sportsbooks very often artificially understate the odds on the favorite while simultaneously raising the odds on the underdog. In modern boxing there are almost no undefeated fighters, and the status of the favorite is more of a name gained during the years of their professional career, rather than a real title.

Upsets in boxing are not uncommon, otherwise sportsbooks would not offer bets on this sport. The player should properly assess the capabilities of both boxers and in any case should not fully rely on the understated odds on the favorite.

Boxing fights are a show. And who wants a show in which the favorite always wins?

No one. Therefore, be very careful about betting on obvious favorites. Sometimes the boxers themselves, having listened to the extremely positive reviews, enter the fight with overconfidence and suddenly lose. In this case, we can only hope for a rematch, if only for the lost bet.

Errors in Assessing a Boxer's Form Can be Costly

Since boxing is an individual sport, an error in assessing the current form of the fighter actually deprives the player of the chance to win the bet.

If a boxer has some old unhealed injury or picked up the wrong sparring partner for training, or the coach has chosen the wrong tactics, the bet will be lost. Unfortunately, in the world of boxing betting, as well as in the ring, mistakes will not forgive you.

More than team sports, the current form must be thoroughly assessed in individual sports like boxing. Luckily, this is easier as there are only two participants in each fight.

Things that should be examined here are each fighter's most recent bouts, possible injuries, previous fights between the two and interviews, tweets from the fighters that give insight into their current mentality. 

Listening to the Wrong Advice for the Fights

Let's say for a bet on boxing you have chosen a significant fight (title fight), you will find a whole bunch of professional judgments of different levels.

Here it is necessary to be careful: instead of a serious assessment of the fight the media can artificially try only to spark more interest in the fight, and it is necessary to be able to distinguish the opinion of a professional and the advice of a person interested in gaining unnecessary PR for the fight.

Before you make a bet, it is worth studying all available sources of information about the boxer, opponent, status of the fight, the venue of the fight (the native fans can decide a lot) and the current state of both fighters.

Modern technology allows the player to be aware of almost all the training of boxers (it is now fashionable to lay out part of a boxer’s training on video hosting sites like YouTube).

There are a lot of factors that influence the correctness of the choice of bet. If you do not consider at least one, you can make a mistake when placing your bet.