Boxing and sports betting have gone hand in hand (or, more specifically, fist in fist) for decades, probably since the earliest days when blokes beat each other with bare knuckles in bars. In the 1960s and 1970s, when Las Vegas started attracting more big-time fights, casino sportsbooks began to take substantial action on the combat sport, even if organized crime made the whole process more problematic.
Now, with the proliferation of online sportsbooks, it’s easier than ever to bet on boxing (not that it’s any easier to make money at it, though). Here’s what to know about betting on boxing and how to begin participating in this long-time tradition. You don’t even have to go to a sketchy bar or to a massive offline sportsbook to do it. Now, it’s possible from the comfort of your home.
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Can You Bet On Boxing?
Yes, you can bet on boxing. Online sportsbooks allow gamblers to wager on baseball, football, soccer, horse racing, cricket, snooker and esports, and you can be sure those books are happy to take your wagering money on combat sports.
You can even bet on some of the least significant undercard fights on the smallest of fight cards. Just because Canelo Alvarez, Terence Crawford, Tyson Fury or anybody else on boxing’s pound-for-pound list isn’t in action that weekend, that doesn’t matter. About every week, plenty of bets can be made in boxing.
But remember that unless a meaningful boxer participates, the sportsbooks will wait until the last minute to post odds. Boxing events on Saturday sometimes don’t show up on the betting boards until the Monday before, and occasionally, you still can’t get odds until a day or two before the first-round bell rings.
Even for some of the biggest fights, you can only wager on the moneylines until the week of the fight, when more prop bets emerge. The books are also inconsistent with which fights feature prop bets and how many options are presented. Sometimes, you can only bet the moneylines. That’s just how boxing betting works.
How to Bet the Moneyline in Boxing
Betting the moneyline is the simplest way to bet on boxing.
Sportsbooks assign a number to both fighters for a bout. One is the favorite, and that fighter has a minus sign in front of their number. The underdog has a plus sign in front of theirs. All you need to do to win this bet is to pick the correct winner. The moneyline determines how much money you win for getting it right.
For a pick’em fight that tells the gambling world it’s 50-50 on who will win, the sportsbooks might make both moneylines -105. That way, the book would make money, no matter who is victorious. Unlike other sports, it’s uncommon to see a true pick’em moneyline. Even a fight generally considered to be competitive might feature moneylines of -300 and +225.
How to Bet on Boxing Props
Sportsbooks often offer props for more significant fights to encourage people to risk even more cash. Prop bets pay off more than the straight-up moneylines because there’s less chance they’ll occur. Here are some examples of boxing props.
Fight Outcome
When a boxing match commences, there are basically five ways for it to end in a result. Fighter A can win by stoppage (either by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification). Fighter B can win by stoppage. Fighter A can win by decision (either unanimous, split or technical decision). Fighter B can win by decision. Or it can end in a draw. You can wager on all five outcomes.
For instance, Ali might be +150 to beat Fury by knockout and +125 to beat him by decision, while Fury would be +1000 to win by stoppage and +800 to win by decision. A draw might be +2000.
Round Betting
Another way to get even more money out of a correct pick is to pick the round or group of rounds where a boxer will score a stoppage.
In our above example, you could wager on Ali to stop Fury in rounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12, and you could bet the same on Fury. You might get +1400 odds on Ali to win by KO in the fifth, or you could take Fury to win by KO in the second at +5000. These, of course, are longshot bets, but if you score, you will win significant money.
Sportsbooks will offer groups of rounds on which you can wager if you want a better chance of scoring for slightly less money. You could, for example, bet on Fighter A to win by KO in rounds 1-4, 5-8 or 9-12. Or you could wager on him winning by stoppage in rounds 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 or 10-12. Or occasionally, books will offer rounds 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8, 9-10 and 11-12.
Naturally, it’s slightly easier to hit a round group when more rounds are involved. So, if you wagered on a stoppage in rounds 1-6, that would pay off less than it would if you wagered on a KO in rounds 1-3.
As usual, the odds’ variety depends on the fight’s significance. Most mid-level or low-level fights aren’t this granular with their prop bets.
Over/Under
You can bet the over/under in boxing, like football or basketball. In this case, the over/under refers to how many rounds the fight would last.
In our Ali vs. Fury example, the over-under could be 9.5 rounds. If somebody wins by KO/TKO or disqualification or the fight’s stopped for any reason before the 1:30 mark of the 10th round, “under” bettors would win. But if, for instance, Ali knocks out Fury with 75 seconds left in the 10th round or if the fight goes the distance, the “over” would prevail.
Similarly, you can also bet on whether the fight will or will not go the distance - in other words, will both fighters be standing on their feet at the end of the battle, where either a decision victory or a draw would be announced.
How to Bet Strategically in Boxing
Yes, winning money is possible even if you don’t consider yourself a sharp bettor. But it’s never going to be easy, and the odds are stacked against you (literally!). There’s a reason Las Vegas, Macau and other can afford to build massive casinos and why online sportsbooks have invaded your TV broadcasts and your favorite podcasts with expensive ad buys.
You Have to Pay Attention
Fight fans who parachute in to wager on only the most significant events miss plenty of other opportunities to win. Are you paying attention only when Mike Tyson is facing Roy Jones Jr.? Then, you might need to learn some of the safest bets you can make.
- Always bet Claressa Shields to win by decision OR for her fight to go the distance. Why? She’s probably the greatest female fighter but has almost no knockout power.
- Always bet on Deontay Wilder by KO. The former heavyweight titlist is one of the most powerful punchers in history. He has 43 victories in his career (43 KOs).
- Always bet the draw when George Dixon is fighting. During his 153-fight career, Dixon, a featherweight champion from Canada, had 57 ties. Even if you put just a few bucks on a draw for a fighter who has shown these proclivities, it’s worth a longshot, especially if the odds are in the +1600 to +2000 range. For what it’s worth, Perez’s last fight came in the year 1906, so you can’t specifically bet on him. But the chances of a draw are something to think about when looking at a boxer’s record.
What is a Parlay in Boxing?
Like other sports betting types, you can put together a group of bets and place them in one super-sized wager. Though winning two or three or four bets representing one parlay is more challenging, the payout will always be more significant.
