How to Find Value when Betting on Boxing

Professional boxing is more popular with bettors today than it has ever been during the sport’s long history. Saudi Arabian investment helped bring managers, promoters and fighters to the negotiating table.

Increased television coverage and the emergence of so-called celebrity boxing have helped to attract a new audience. As you would expect, the world’s most powerful betting apps were eager to get in on the action.

Picking the winning fighter and landing a profit is the aim of every gambler, but there’s more to boxing betting than meets the eye. On this page, former professional boxer turned sports betting analyst Frankie Monkhouses explains how to find the value when betting on boxing.

You can find value in all forms of sports betting. The term may seem a little confusing or complicated, but it’s really quite simple.

Value in boxing betting means backing a fighter or selection you believe has higher odds than it should.

When writing boxing betting previews for major firms, I always look at the betting odds last. I’ll do my research, select my favourite bets, and consult the odds. If I had Fighter A as a strong bet to win and the bookies make him the second favourite, that’s an obvious wager. 

Over the years, I’ve seen too many people focus on the fight-winner market, only to say there’s no value in the game. That’s just not true. It’s a lazy approach that will ensure you end the season with more losers than winners.

When studying a fight, you must focus on the most important factors and make your findings fit a betting market. When studying a fighter’s recent form, it’s also worth checking their professional record on BoxRec site, including previous opponents, results and stoppage history.

Here’s an example:

There’s an old saying I learned in sports gambling many years ago:

They won’t all win, of course, as online gambling is unpredictable, but you’ll end the year with more in your betting balance than you started. That’s true of boxing, football, MMA, tennis, and all forms of sports gambling.

There’s even a way to find overpriced selections in every fight that interests you. After researching a fixture, you can create your own book of pre-bout betting odds. You’d then measure them against the odds offered by your chosen sportsbook, seizing on the gaps.

I’ll now explain the three most useful boxing betting markets.

• Fight winner: The simplest way to gamble on boxing. Pick a fighter to win, and if they do, you’ll secure the profits
• Method of victory: Predict the winning fighter and how they’ll get the result, on points or by stoppage
• Total rounds: Avoid picking sides and predict how many rounds the fight will last. It’s often over or under 6.5 rounds

The best and most popular boxing betting bonus is the ‘bet and get’ promo offered to new customers. Join a sportsbook, make your first deposit, and bet on boxing. When your first pick results, you’ll receive a free bet to use on the next contest that catches your eye.

People love to bet on professional boxing for the same reason they love to watch the biggest fights.

The noble art is fast, exciting, unpredictable, and doesn’t follow a script. The unpredictable nature of boxing makes it ideal for targeting a profit.

Another thing I learned about boxing betting when working on the trading floor of a UK sportsbook giant is that they don’t always give the sport the attention it deserves. 

While a bookie will have dedicated traders for football, tennis, and horse racing, that’s not the case in boxing. In many instances, those creating the fight odds usually trade on other sports and are asked to cover. That puts fight fans in a strong position.

If you love boxing and rate your knowledge, you’ve got to fancy your chances of out-smarting an opponent that’s more interested in tennis or football. You’ll have the upper hand when studying the form and searching for the easiest way to land a return.

When betting on boxing, you’re not only backing a fighter to win. You’re backing yourself to use your passion to nail down a profit.