Boxing Betting

Boxing is the ultimate contact sport, and betting on fights has been around for as long as punches have been thrown. Although draws are possible, most boxing matches end with a clear winner and loser, making it the perfect sport for outright wagering. And thanks to a diversity of organisations in charge of regulating boxing, there is never a lack of bouts on which to bet.

The oldest of the groups governing professional fights and issuing world championship titles is the World Boxing Association (WBA). It was founded in 1962, having grown out of the U.S.-based National Boxing Association. Unfortunately, its history has been marred by internal strife, leading to the creation of competing organisations.

In 1983, many members were unhappy with the results of the election for WBA president, so they broke away and claimed their own right to hold professional bouts and crown world champions as the International Boxing Federation (IBF). Five years later, another split occurred among WBA leaders, this time over rules, which led to the resignation of many South and Central American representatives, who in turn formed the World Boxing Organization (WBO), headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

As influential and important as these three groups are, the true leadership in professional boxing comes from the World Boxing Council (WBC). It was formed in 1963 with the purpose of expanding the sport by bringing unity to all of the boxing commissions of the world. Today, the WBC has nine regional governing bodies, including the North American Boxing Federation (NABF), the European Boxing Union (EBU), among others. Its title belts bear the flags of all 161 nations that are members.

The four groups have their own rankings, and each one lays claim to having the world champions in various weight divisions. To the benefit of the sport, the legitimacy of all four groups is recognised by the International Boxing Hall of Fame, based in New York State. Although the organisations frequently block bouts between their aligned fighters, championships are unified from time to time by major title bouts that make lots of money for everyone involved.

Boxing promoters work with all four groups and are responsible for putting together the actual fights, choosing opponents, arranging a venue, setting dates, confirming rules, and selling sponsorships and broadcast rights. Mandatory title defenses make sure that big events are continually on the schedule, but it is no easy task arranging a good match-up.

One problem is that weight divisions are not standardized among the groups. Everyone agrees that the unlimited weight class above 200 pounds (90.7 kg) is the Heavyweight Division, but the lightest boxers, under 105 pounds47.6 kg) are Strawweight in the WBC, Minimumweight in the WBA, and Mini Flyweight in the IBF and WBO. The fifteen other weight divisions in between can be just as confusing.

Boxing betting is heaviest on major title bouts, but qualifying events to determine rankings and elimination bouts to determine new champions for vacant titles are also popular for wagering. On the day of a big fight, several less important “warm-up” or preliminary bouts are scheduled, often to introduce new boxers, tune-up rising stars, or give contenders and opportunity to improve their records or step up to a higher level of competition.

Collectively, all of the fights at a given location on a single day are called the “card.” Wagering on the “undercard” (lesser bouts) can be a fun way to pass the time while waiting for the main event, but many of the fighters take bouts on short notice and are in less than top condition, so favourites yield only small returns at short odds.

In fact, even in title fights, the odds are tipped so that it is difficult to win much by backing the champion. Upsets are needed to cash in big when betting outright, so many bettors turn to other markets for higher profits. Among these round betting, in which a wager is put on how many rounds the fight will last. Undercard fights may be scheduled for 4~10 rounds, while main events are typically set for twelve. Bets on the fight ending before the final bell often have high odds.

Another type of boxing betting is “type of victory.” A fight can be won by knockout, technical knockout, on points, by unanimous decision, split decision, or majority decisions, depending on the rules of the governing body. Again, odds are higher on bets of this type. Additional boxing betting markets are available live betting, to wager while a fight is in progress. Bets are also taken on amateur matches, such as Golden Gloves events and the Olympics.