Start Betting on Boxing: A Simple Beginner’s Guide

Start Betting on Boxing: A Simple Beginner’s Guide

Learn Tips, Props, and How to Make Smart Picks in the World of Fight Night Wagering

Knockout Your Bets

Long known as the “sweet science,” boxing has a rich and colorful history, highlighted by iconic champions (Muhammad Ali, and Joe Louis). Sugar Ray Robinson, and Rocky Marciano, just to name a few) in any number of weight classes. With the advent and explosion of legalized sports wagering has come a multitude of ways to enjoy betting on boxing. Estimates have more than $1 billion bet on boxing in the United States alone every year.

Fans needn’t look very far to get their fix on boxing rankings. Also, there are a lot of media outlets dedicated to this sport…and last but certainly not least, odds accompany just about any bout.

With some homework, there is money to be made predicting the pugilists. Here’s our lesson…

How Do Beginners Start Betting on Boxing?

Before a bettor wagers on boxing, he/she needs to take a look at the boxing schedule. Bouts are listed weeks to months ahead of time, usually in chronological order and with information including venue, weight class, and number of rounds scheduled.

The easiest boxing bet is “Who wins?” which isn’t any different than making a wager on a standard team vs. team game. The boxer on whom you’ve wagered just has to win. Period.

As with both teams, both boxers are assigned odds, and those boxing odds may well fluctuate to reflect the ‘action’ (money wagered) on each fighter. Some bouts figure to be one-sided, and the betting board bears that out.

Conversely, there are “coin-toss” fights, with the odds very close on both sides.

It is the “responsibility” of the bettor to make sure he/she is getting fair value relative to the odds board. Using the recent Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight as an example, Paul was the -225 (4-9) favorite, with Tyson the +180 (9-5 underdog). Translated, if you chose to bet on Paul, it was $225 to win $100, with a wager on Tyson priced at $100 to win $180.

With any opponent vs. opponent wager, you cannot bet both sides and be guaranteed a profit, as the risk on the favorite is always greater than the reward of the underdog.

There’s no real risk/return with betting on a fighter who’s priced at -2000, so risking $20 to win $1.

What Are Other Ways to Bet on Boxing?

It isn’t just Fighter A vs. Fighter B as far as betting on boxing is concerned. There are “prop wagers” around virtually all of the bouts, meaning other bets with their own sets of odds.

Circling back to Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson, which was a scheduled eight-round bout, there was an ‘over-under’ set at 5½ rounds. This was a rather cut-and-dry bet, as in, do you think the fight would last more or less than that 5½-round number?

In this case, ‘over’ was favored at -142 (bet $142 to win $100), with ‘under’ at +112 (bet $100 to win $112). It’s irrelevant who won the fight to cash in on this bet.

There are other related bets, including “Does the fight go the distance?”

“Is there a knockdown?”, “Fight ends in round(s)” and “winner’s method of victory” (knockout, TKO, points/decision).
For those thinking outside the box, betting on a draw (a fight with no winner) is also an option.

If you’re really adventurous, consider a parlay combining wagering propositions and the potential of a more sizable return on investment. Remember each “prop” has to be successful, or you won’t be.

How Do You Place a Bet on Boxing?

BetUS is the go-to platform when it comes to wagering, as the premier site features all the best fights, broadcast/pay-per-view information, and odds.

Do yourself a favor and peruse all of the content to find the latest boxing news to help with those bets. There are 17 weight classes (minimumweight to heavyweight), so that’s a lot of information. There are also magazines (Boxing News has been around forever) and websites, including those corresponding to ranking organizations such as the World Boxing Association and World Boxing Council.

In this era when pretty much everything is online, watch past fights to see if you can spot something. The adage “styles make fights” is always very much in vogue.