Betting on boxing is a lot like betting on the UFC. Since a lot of new boxing handicappers are coming over to boxing because of the cross-sport fights, you may already have some experience.
If you’re completely new, don’t worry, this guide is geared towards the complete beginner.
Bet on the Winner of a Boxing Fight
When you bet on the outright winner of a boxing fight, it’s known as a “moneyline” bet.
The terminology isn’t overly important to grasp as a beginner, but as you interact with these terms on a more frequent basis, they’ll become second nature.
Here’s an example of a boxing moneyline bet:
Example: Tyson Fury (-245) vs. Deontay Wilder (+205)
The boxer that’s expected to win is called the “favorite” and the boxer expected to lose the fight is called the “underdog” or commonly just “dog”. How can you tell which boxer is favored?
When the moneyline odds are negative the boxer is favored. Fury is a –245 favorite to beat Wilder who is a +205 underdog. With favorites, the odds represent how much you need to bet to win $100 (A $245 bet on Fury pays $100 profit). With underdogs, the odds represent the amount you’ll win if you wager $100 (Bet $100 on Wilder to win $205 profit).
What Are Boxing Futures Bets?
Boxing betting sites will often post up betting odds on rumored fights.
With boxing futures, the bookie will post the odds and a deadline. If the fight doesn’t take place on or prior to the deadline date then the market is cancelled and bets are refunded.
The reason one would bet on boxing futures is to get a good line on a boxer before the public has time to hammer the bet, as once that happens the payout odds won’t present as much value.
Boxing Rounds Betting – Over/Under
There are a few ways boxing handicappers can wager on the total rounds in a bout.
The most common way is to bet on the over/under for total rounds.
Example: Fury vs. Wilder – Over 9.5 Rounds (-120) / Under 9.5 Rounds (-120)
As most of you likely know, the majority of boxing fights are 12 3-minute rounds. With the over/under bet, boxing bettors need to decide whether a fight will last longer or shorter than the line.
In this example, the bout needs to last 1:30 into the 9th round for over bettors to win. If the fight is finished before this exact point in the 9th round, then those that bet on the under would cash.
So, what are the other ways you can bet on the total rounds in a boxing fight?
You can bet on what round a boxer will win in (IE: Wilder in Round 7), whether or not a fight will start X round (IE: Fury vs. Wilder Will Start Round 9) and exact round betting (IE: Fury vs. Wilder Will End in Round 5). Some of these betting markets will have huge payout odds.
Ready to bring your action? Check our Sportsbook Review for the best on the industry!
Predicting How a Boxer Will Win a Fight – Method of Victory
In some cases, big boxing favorites aren’t worth betting. Why bet $1000 to win $100 on a boxer? With that being said, look to the method of victory markets for better prices on favorites.
Example: Castro by TKO/KO/DQ (+200) or Castro by Decision (-200)
In the example I’m using above, Castro is a massive –1500 favorite. However, you can bet on Castro to win his bout by decision at just –200 odds or by TKO/KO/DQ at +200 odds.
When you bet on a boxer to win by TKO/KO/DQ, they need to win by knockout or disqualification. If you bet on a boxer to win by decision, they can only win via the judges’ scorecards.
The method of victory markets makes betting big favorites more manageable.
Boxing Prop Betting
There are also multiple boxing prop bets for every fight. The more mainstream bouts featuring guys with name recognition will have more prop bets available than your average fight.
Examples include betting on a fight to end in a draw, how many knockdowns will take place in a fight or what boxer will be the first to be knocked down. Some bookies also have point handicap props where you can bet on a boxer to win by X number of points on the judges’ scorecards.
Boxing is one of the simplest sports to learn how to bet on.
There aren’t too many exotic markets and it doesn’t take long to understand the boxing bet types. I’ve explained all of the boxing betting markets above with examples. If you have any questions, reach out to us here at SAS in the comments or through or private contact form.
Mike Tyson is Scheduled to Fight Next Month
In case you missed the big news, read our quick preview on the Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. fight that’s scheduled to take place next month in Carson, California.
We’ll be publishing our best bets for the exhibition boxing card closer to the bouts.
NBA star Nate Robinson will be fighting YouTube star Jake Paul on the same fight card. You can bet on these fights already at BetOnline and America’s Bookie. We’ve already seen some line movement.
When we published the initial preview, Tyson was priced at –200 and Jones Jr. was priced at +160, but the odds on Tyson to win the fight are down to –170, while Jones Jr. is at +140 now.
