Boxing is one of the oldest sports in history, dating back to ancient Greece in 600 BC. Coinciding with its extensive history is its close relationship with betting.
Boxing is a seasonal sport but due to its global reach and popularity, fights take place every single week throughout the year. In 2023, we saw one of the biggest boxing cards take place on December 23, followed by Naoya Inoue becoming the undisputed super-bantamweight champion in a huge event in Japan just three days later on Boxing Day.
All of the leading bookmakers in the UK cover these year-round bouts, including everything from flyweight to heavyweight.
Whether you are looking to bet on the big guys, such as heavyweights Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury, or the likes of Jesse Rodriguez and Sunny Edwards, there are plenty of markets to choose from.
Click here for a comprehensive guide to the best boxing betting sites UK.
The World of Boxing
Last year, there were dozens of big upsets in the world of boxing. If you are a pure boxing fan, one who follows the sport intensely, then you may have foreseen some of these surprising wins coming. In betting terms, when you are able to pick an underdog to win, there are great betting odds to take advantage of.
For example, when Brighton braggart Chris Eubank Jr. agreed to fight former world champion Liam Smith at the start of the year, the Liverpudlian was a +330 underdog. Eubank Jr. had taken the best of what big-punching George Groves could dish out, had never even looked hurt against any previous opponent and was known for his durability, so no one believed that ‘Beefy’ Smith would be able to stop him, but he did just that—as early as the fourth round.
Irish superstar Katie Taylor was unbeaten and seemingly unstoppable until she clashed with the incredible Chantelle Cameron in her Ireland homecoming in May. At super-lightweight, Cameron was the undisputed champion—Taylor couldn’t match the Brit for speed, volume, or strength, despite being the favourite to win.
In the summer, no one predicted that Tyson Fury would be knocked down by professional boxing debutant Francis Ngannou, who had just made the switch from MMA. The betting odds for Ngannou to score a knockdown against the reigning WBC heavyweight champion would have been very wide, especially as early on in the fight as round three.
But then came the world’s biggest upset, two days before Christmas, when Joseph Parker almost stopped Deontay Wilder to win on points unanimously in Saudi Arabia. Despite being known as one of the most fearsome punchers in heavyweight history, KO king Wilder was forced onto the backfoot by the aggressive New Zealander all fight long and was even required to hang on for dear life when he was stunned with a powerful overhand right in the eighth round. Prior to the fight, Parker had been stopped by Briton Joe Joyce in 11 rounds, so many fans believed he would succumb to the heavy hands of Wilder, who had 42 knockouts from 43 victories.
The Future of Boxing
In 2024, one of the biggest fights comes on January 13 in Canada, when unified light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev will defend his titles against Brit Callum Smith, the younger brother of the aforementioned Liam.
With 19 KOs from 19 fights, the odds are stacked against Smith. But if 2023 has taught us anything, it’s not to write off the underdog. So, with the odds of Callum Smith winning by knockout as anything up to 100/1, there’s potentially a lot of money to be made.
Even betting on a draw at 25/1 could be a sound investment. Smith lasted 12 rounds with pound-for-pound superstar Canelo, who really turned up the heat in the championship rounds, but the Brit endured to the final bell. It’s possible ‘Mundo’ could get an early lead by using his superior reach and height, then survive the pressure in the later rounds to secure a stalemate.
Former super-middleweight world champion Smith’s last two fights have been fought up a light-heavyweight and both ended in KOs. If his powerful left hook lands and causes damage, then there are odds of 100/1 for him to win by knockout in rounds 1–4.
But the champion, Beterbiev, has knocked out every single one of his 19 opponents so far.
For boxing purists, these are factors that make betting on the sport so interesting and exciting. It’s never a foregone conclusion and one punch can change it all at any given moment. Studying form, styles, and patterns is all well and good and can lead to a calculated, informed decision. But, boxing is very unpredictable when it’s just two men standing in the ring opposite each other, so anything can happen!