Boxing Betting Sites

Betting on Boxing from the UK

Boxing is one of the most popular sports in the UK, with many fight fans enjoying a bet on big bouts. Stars such as Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua are among the country's top sportsmen.

While boxing betting has been around for a long time, the sport appears to be going through a boom period. Women's boxing is having a moment thanks to the arrival of superstars such as Katie Taylor, while various celebrities have tried their skills in the ring, such as YouTuber KSI.

It all points to a bright future for boxing and it seems safe to say that boxing betting is only going to continue to become more popular in the future. Those who have little experience when it comes to boxing betting might be unsure of how to get started, though, especially as there is so much choice out there when it comes to UK boxing betting sites, as well as boxing markets too.

Our full guide to betting on boxing from the UK has all the answers, so read on for more info.

What is Boxing Betting?

Boxing betting might seem straightforward, but perhaps not for those who are new to it. There can be a surprising number of betting options to pick from at online bookmakers considering boxing is a very simple sport that boils down to one person trying to knock the other one out.

One of the first things for newcomers to boxing betting to get their heads around is the high number of different weight classes to be aware of. Naturally, in boxing, it is necessary to match up fighters of similar size and weight in order to try to ensure there is a fair fight. Some of the most common weights in boxing include featherweight, lightweight, welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight, though there are a few others with either 'light' or 'super' in front of them too.

The other thing to remember about boxing betting is that results are decided by a panel of judges in the event that neither fighter is able to knock out their opponent or force a stoppage. This means a knockout or technical knockout (TKO), the latter of which is when the referee of a fight decides that one of the boxers is not fit to continue as a result of the blows they sustained.

If there is no knockout or TKO decision in a fight, it comes down to the judges' decision. Each pro bout is watched by three judges, who scored the fight by deciding which boxer has performed best in each round. In the end, the judges' overall scores are revealed. In the event that all three judges have decided the same fighter won, then the bout is won by a unanimous decision.

If one judge has a different result, such as in the rematch between British boxer Anthony Joshua and Oleksandr Usykin in the summer of 2022, then this means the fight is won by a split decision. Majority decisions can also happen when two judges award the win and one thinks it is a draw.

In order to bet on boxing, the process works in much the same way as placing wagers on any other sport, such as football, golf or tennis. Boxing is an individual sport, though, so it is perhaps not comparable to a team sport. The first thing that anyone who wants to bet on boxing needs to do is to pick which site to use. The above 10 best boxing betting sites in the UK are a good place to start. The process of registering for a boxing betting account should be pretty quick.

It normally takes a few minutes at the most to create a boxing betting account with an online bookmaker by filling in personal details such as name, address, date of birth and email address.

Verifying a boxing betting account may also be required as part of the know your customer (KYC for short) checks that UK online betting sites are obliged to carry out these days. To verify an account, it is usually a case of following simple instructions that are sent by email or SMS.

Once a boxing betting account is up and running, fight fans can browse the available markets, which will include a wide variety of pre-match ante-post boxing betting options. If a user is looking for a bet during a big fight, then live in-play boxing betting will also be available too.

Then, it is a case of picking a bet, adding it to a betslip, inputting the stake size and confirming. Cashing out boxing bets for some guaranteed profit is also usually offered at UK betting sites.

Predicting the final outcome of a fight is one of the most popular boxing betting markets to pick from - more on the other options later - but what are some of the common events to bet on?

Popular Boxing Events and Organisations to Bet On

For newcomers to boxing betting, the sheer number of events and organisations that are available to bet on can be pretty overwhelming. Here are some of the key things to look for:

• World Boxing Association (WBA): Founded in 1921, the WBA is the oldest of the four major boxing associations that run the rule over the sport these days. The WBA was launched as the National Boxing Association and now it has its head office in Panama.
• World Boxing Council (WBC): Founded in Mexico City in 1963, the aim of setting up the WBC was to establish an international regulating body for the sport of boxing. The standing eight count is one of the boxing safety rules that is credited to the WBC.
• International Boxing Federation (IBF): Initially founded as the United States Boxing Association (USBA) in September 1976, the aim of the IBF was to legitimise boxing in America. The body, which is based in New Jersey, was renamed to the IBF in 1984.
• World Boxing Organization (WBO): The most recently created of the four bodies is the WBO, which was created in 1988. The WBO's titles were not widely recognised across the sport for some time, but now it has a similar status to the other sanctioning bodies.

Popular Boxing Betting Markets

Boxing betting includes a number of different markets to pick from, including the following:

Fight winner: Most boxing fans will probably stick to the basic fight winner markets. As the name suggests, this market simply involves predicting which fighter will win the bout. It does not matter which method they win the fight, just that they come out on top overall.

Method of victory: As well as betting on which boxer wins a fight, it is also possible to bet on the method of their victory. Knockout and TKO are two of the most common ways to win a fight and they are often combined in the same bet. Points decisions are very common in the sport of boxing, with many major bouts being settled this way nowadays.

Round betting: Along with bets on how a fight ends, boxing betting sites in the UK will also take wagers on the round in which it finishes. It is possible to bet on an individual round, as well as in a group, for example, the fight to end in rounds one to three. The round betting market can often be combined with the fight winner - for example, a fight fan might wish to place a bet on Anthony Joshua winning a bout in the first three rounds.

Over/under rounds: Similar to over/under goals markets in football, people also have the chance to bet on which round a fight will be decided in this market. For example, someone who thinks a fight will not take long to be over could bet on under 4.5 rounds. Fight fans can combine over/under rounds betting with fight winner bets too. For example, if Tyson Fury is in the ring it will likely be possible to bet on Fury to win and under 4.5 rounds in the same bet, improving the odds and potential profits up for grabs.

Fight to go the distance: Along with the over/under rounds market, it is possible for UK fight fans to bet on whether a particular bout will go the distance. Betting on this boxing market is a good choice as customers do not even have to predict which boxer wins, just whether or not there is a stoppage that means the fight does not go the full 12 rounds.

Will a fight be made: Along with the confirmed fights on the schedule, many of the top boxing betting sites in the UK will even let customers bet on if a bout will ever be made. Boxing is a strange sport in that a lot of the top fights that fans want to see take a long time to be made, for a variety of reasons, but often this is mainly financial as there is no agreement on how much money each boxer should be paid as their share for the fight. Betting on whether or not a fight is made can result in long waits for winnings, though.

Request a bet: Many of the top boxing betting sites in the UK now allow their customers to request their own special bet, which may be similar to an accumulator for football. Social media channels such as Twitter are now often used to get in touch with UK online bookmakers to request that a particular wager be priced up and added to a sportsbook.

Boxing Betting Tips and Strategies

Boxing is unlike most sports in that the outcome can swing in a second. A boxer can be in complete control in the ring but it only takes one punch to knock them out and end the fight.

As a result, boxing betting is perhaps even more unpredictable than any other sport. There have been plenty of big shock results that were hard for even the most fervent fight fans to call. Add in the fact that many bouts go the full 12 rounds and end up being settled by the decision of the judges - who do not always see a fight the same as normal fans - and it is a complex picture.

As with a lot of the other top sports to bet on, fight fans can increasingly call on a lot of data and statistics in order to help them to pick out some winning wagers for the big bout. As an example, research shows that around three-quarters of heavyweight fights finish with either a knockout or technical knockout. The reason for this is perhaps obvious - bigger boxers having the power to knock out their opponents with a single punch. Knockouts and TKO wins then tend to become less common moving down through the various weight classes in the sport of boxing.

Some fighters are also particularly famous for being able to end their bouts with a knockout. One of the best examples of this from the sport's history is the great Rocky Marciano, who won an amazing 43 of the 49 fights he had by knockout. Among the boxers to be knocked out by Marciano during his stellar career were Joe Louis, Jersey Joe Walcott and Archie Moore. A less famous example than Marciano is the late Venezuelan puncher Edwin Valero, who won all 27 of his professional fights by knockout as a result of his unbelievable punching power in the ring.

Just like with other sports, when betting on boxing it is vital to make decisions with the brain, not the heart. In the UK, top British boxers often tend to be short-priced favourites due to the sheer amount of money being placed on them to win, which is often coming from people who do not actually have a lot of real knowledge about the sport. A good example of this is the first time that Anthony Joshua got into the ring with Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua was a big favourite - no doubt due to so many of his big fans backing him to win - but Usyk outclassed him and won it easily.

It is worth following key boxing news updates closely in the build-up to a big fight. If a boxer is carrying an injury, no matter how minor it might appear, this could have a big impact on their chances of winning. Boxers try to keep it quiet when they have an injury but this information often has a way of leaking out into the media, affecting their boxing betting odds as a result. Training camp updates should be taken with a pinch of salt, though, as a boxer's team is always going to be briefing in favour of their fighter rather than telling anyone that they are struggling.

Stylistic match-ups are important to study when trying to find winning wagers in boxing. A boxer might be regarded as classier in the ring than their opponent, but if they find it is often a struggle when they fight particularly aggressive boxers it might be worth siding against them on the night.

A general tip when betting on boxing is also to try to make the most of betting bonuses. When a big fight is coming up, most of the top 10 UK betting sites will have special deals up for grabs.