If you know your boxing, you may at some point consider betting on the sport. You’d certainly have plenty of opportunities to do so. The sports betting world has been going through a period of expansion over the last decade or so and top UK boxing betting sites cover the best boxing events.
If you are considering betting on the sport, it is important to do your homework. As with all forms of betting, you should only ever bet with money you can afford to lose, and you should understand the risks involved with sports betting. Ideally, you should treat it as a minor hobby or side interest.
Assuming that you plan to approach your boxing betting responsibly, what else should you consider? Here are some of the key pros and cons associated with boxing betting.
Boxing Betting Pros
Highly Technical Sport
All sports have their technical requirements, but boxing has a hidden level of complexity that most casual fans won’t appreciate. This is good news for people who know their boxing and who want to bet.
Beyond phrases such as ‘a puncher’s chance’ and ‘styles make fights’ most sports fans have very little idea about the techniques or the skill involved in the sport, and since, as a sports bettor, you are essentially betting against other people as much as the bookmaker, you can have an advantage.
Limited Field
One of the problems with sports betting is that some sports have huge numbers of participants. For example, there are over 500 footballers on the books of Premier League clubs, with arrivals and departures occurring regularly. In golf, the PGA Tour features around 200 players and with horse racing, you may have to get to know the abilities of thousands of horses and hundreds of jockeys.
Boxing is a lot easier to get to grips with. There is a clear ranking system, and the field of top boxers can be further reduced by sticking to one or two divisions, enabling you to focus your efforts.
Multiple Betting Markets
Good boxing bookmakers will offer a variety of betting markets, besides the standard Fight Winner option. It is possible to bet on a host of Round-related markets, as well as markets such as Method of Victory, Knockout Yes/No and First Knockdown, which means whatever your angle on a fight, you should be able to find a betting market to exploit it.
Boxing Betting Cons
Short Odds
The short odds available on favorites in the Fight Winner markets are an obvious negative. This is partially down to the fact that there are only two competitors in the contest, but it can sometimes be the result of the general public piling on a well-known fighter ahead of a high-profile fight.
For this reason, boxing bettors have to spread their net more widely and consider the minor markets if they hope to be successful.
Patchy Market Availability
While boxing is growing as a betting sport, it doesn’t yet have the same coverage as sports like football, and the result is that, even with high-quality bookmakers, you may sometimes find it difficult to locate the market you want. If there is little interest, a bookmaker may just choose not to price up a market, which can be extremely frustrating for the boxing bettor.
Expensive to Watch
Watching as much action as you can is essential if you want to improve your sports betting, whatever sport you are following, but in the case of boxing, that can be an expensive business.
Although fights are occasionally featured on terrestrial or free-to-air television, these are rare. A lot of the time you will have to either subscribe to a channel that regularly shows boxing or make repeated Pay Per View (PPV) purchases, just to stay in touch with the action.
Summary
Sports betting is not something that you should do lightly, and it is important to understand the risks and pitfalls. For the informed boxing fan, however, it can provide a fun diversion and an opportunity to pit your wits against the bookmakers and the general public, although you should always bet responsibly, within strict limits and with full awareness of the pros and cons of boxing betting. You can find a reliable boxing betting site at Legalbet.uk.
