How to bet on boxing & how does boxing betting work ?

As one of the biggest sports in the world, boxing events attract hundreds of millions of fans that spend hours in front of their screens. But you can make it even more entertaining through sports betting – here is how to bet on boxing in 2022.

What is boxing?

Boxing is a combat sport with roots that go back as far as Ancient Greece. While the difference between the ancient rough version and modern-day amateur and professional boxing is huge, this is one of the oldest sports in the world.

Throughout the years, boxing has been banned in multiple countries because of the violence. Yet, around the start of the 20th century, it became a legal sport and 100 years later, it is one of the biggest and most expensive sports in the world.

What is the difference between boxing and MMA?

Boxing and MMA have a lot in common but then again – these are completely different kinds of sports. Obviously, boxing is the biggest combat sport in the world as it has been around for centuries. It includes techniques and punches limited to the hands. This is also the main difference between MMA and boxing. While the latter includes only the aforementioned techniques, MMA includes boxing as one of the many different martial arts that a martial artist practices.

For instance, Mixed Martial Arts also includes wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, Muay Thai, Kickboxing, and multiple other sports. Overall, most MMA fighters usually have a background in one of these sports and then pick up all others during MMA training. So, in one sentence – boxing is its own sport but it is also part of Mixed Martial Arts.

How to bet on boxing: bet types/markets

Like any sport, online boxing betting has its own characteristics and unique markets that can only be found in boxing. As in any form where the goal of the fight is to identify the winner, the main betting market is the victory of one of the boxers or a draw, which is recorded very rarely. The disadvantage of this type of bet is that it is often rare to find equal quotes for the victory of boxers and in 90% of fights there is a clear favorite.

Here are the main types of markets that will give you a clear idea of how to bet on boxing matches.

“Moneyline” – this is a bet where the bettor must indicate the name of the boxer who must win the boxing match.

“Draw” – Draws are extremely rare in combat sports as it requires both boxers to end with an equal amount of points at the end of a match. This outcome is possible only in cases when the fight goes to distance. This is when the judges get to decide which fighter takes the victory.

“Early victory” – this market refers to the boxing prediction of an early stoppage to the fight. This could mean a knockout or a technical knockout, as well as disqualification or a refusal of one of the fighters to continue the match.

“Win by points” – this is a bet that implies the victory of the boxer on the points earned during the entire fight, but such a victory can only be awarded by refereeing. It means that the fight must go to distance.

“Number of rounds” – in this bet, the bettor must guess how many rounds there will be for the entire fight.

You also need to understand how do boxing odds work if you want to bet the right way.

How to bet on boxing – betting strategies

For most people you can't just look for betting tips for boxing, betting on boxing is entertainment. Among professional players, betting on boxing is quite difficult, since top fights do not take place every day. You need to bet on boxing only when you understand who you are betting on and why. In case of a loss, it is better to take it lightly, so you need to bet large amounts only with full confidence in the fighter.

Study the previous fights of each athlete and their statistics

Research, in general, plays a serious role in betting on any sport and it is a staple in our guide on how to bet on boxing. The chance to make the right winning bet directly depends on both the volume and the quality of the information that the player owns. Before placing a bet on boxing, be sure to study the statistics of the previous fights of both fighters.

Information about the motivation of boxers and the mode of their training is also key. Important data on the physical parameters of the fighters – for example, reports of changes in their weight data in the direction of increase or decrease. The professional level of the team that prepares the athlete for a boxing match is also very significant – first of all, the coach.

Analyze match favorites

After collecting and analyzing information about the opponents in a boxing match on your own, you should definitely study public opinion, understand what forecasts professional observers and players make, which of the fighters is the favorite of the bookmakers, and why one of the opponents is considered the favorite and whether these statements are true.

There is no need to thoroughly know the whole “inner kitchen” of professional boxing in order to understand the simplest thing: you should bet on the more likely winner of the fight. If you don't have direct access to the organizers of a boxing match, all the information you need to draw the right conclusions can easily be found online.

Do not neglect outsiders in boxing

There are not so many real “stars” in boxing, so there is a fairly common situation here when one of the “stars” fights with a little-known athlete. It is worth paying attention to the fact that we are talking about the little-known and not the bad ones. It is quite possible that a boxer is talented and skillful, but at the same time, the general public knows little about him.

Let's take Canelo Alvarez vs Dmitry Bivol, a fight that took place on May 7, 2022. As the world champion, Canelo Alvarez is one of the biggest stars in boxing and sports, in general. On the other side, Bivol is another boxer that has extreme talent and skills but few people actually knew a lot about him. And the odds for him to win were sky-high. What happened in the end – he beat Canelo.

There was no value in betting on Canelo Alvarez in this match because the odds were minimal. If you see such fights, it is better to avoid the favorite but statistically, 8/10 favorites win their matches in Boxing.

Best boxing betting sites

You can place a bet on boxing at almost all bookmakers, either on their websites or on their boxing betting apps. But boxing is such a sport that the odds in different bookmakers have a significant difference in it. For example, you can take any fight of your choice – looking at the odds, you will find that the bets on the favorite have a value of 1.5-1.62, and on the outsider 2.38-2.6, for this reason, it makes sense to spend a little of your time, open several bookmakers, compare odds and then place a bet.

Draftkings

Draftkings is a leading sportsbook in the United States for more than just the betting options. Besides the 20+ available sports for betting, you will find elaborate betting guides, countless exclusive promotions for different events, a VIP section, and more.

When it comes to Boxing, DraftKings provides coverage of all major boxing events throughout the year. Unlike more widespread sports like football, basketball, etc., boxing markets and odds appear months before the actual event, so you can often catch them at greater odds than the immediate pre-match odds.

Overall, DraftKings is not known for the great variety of sports markets when it comes to combat sports, but they compensate with higher-than-usual odds and multiple promotions.

Fanduel

Fanduel is another excellent sportsbook that is gaining momentum in the industry. Despite its smaller catalog of sports, Fanduel provides additional services that compensate for the lack of diversity.

Boxing, for instance, is covered heavily and you will find odds and markets for all events throughout the year. Even now, you can go to the boxing section and bet on fights that have been scheduled for July.

While you can bet on the outcome of a fight months ahead of the competition, additional elaborate markets appear several days before each boxing event.

Like most reputable bookmakers, Fanduel comes up with various exclusive offers for boxing. Such also appear about a week prior to an event.

BetMGM

BetMGM is a popular American sportsbook that covers more than 20 sports including Boxing.

While BetMGM provides markets for all major boxing events throughout the year, odds appear much later than for example DraftKings and Fanduel. This is not a problem for most bettors as few people place wagers months before a fight.

With this said, BetMGM might not offer early bets but there are plenty of other reasons to choose this bookmaker. Starting with their unbelievable new customer offer and the constant ongoing promotions, there is no reason not to.

When it comes to Boxing and Mixed Martial Arts, for example, BetMGM has another advantage. Boxing odds vary from bookmaker to bookmaker and BetMGM often provides incredible value for betting.

This mostly refers to betting on an outsider in a fight. This is a common strategy for professional bettors – if you are one of those, BetMGM often has the best odds.

See also : 

• How To Bet On Boxing in New York
• How To Bet On Boxing Matches
• How To Bet On Boxing and Win