Legal Boxing Betting

Licensed sportsbooks and mobile apps offer legal boxing betting in a regulated, safe, and transparent environment in many states. The best boxing betting sites operate in compliance with consumer protection regulations that ensure winners receive prompt payouts and a fair experience.

That said, there are significant variances in the ways licensed boxing betting apps and websites approach online sports betting. Some online sportsbooks work best for recreational bettors, focusing on frequent promotions and polished mobile apps. Others target the high-volume demographic, with fewer promotions but better lines and higher betting limits

This page aims to help readers find the best boxing betting sites for their individual needs. It is tough to go too far wrong by always sticking with licensed sportsbooks, but it also doesn’t take much effort to find the betting site to best suit your specific preferences.

Read on to learn more about where to bet on boxing in every state, how boxing betting online works, and for a discussion of the complicated relationship between legal sports betting and the Sweet Science.

Best Boxing Betting Sites

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Where to Bet on Boxing Online

More than two dozen states have legalized sports betting, and more will follow suit. The following map shows where it is legal to bet on boxing through licensed sportsbooks, mobile betting apps, or both.

Click or tap on any state to read more about how sports betting there and for recommended sportsbooks.

Map Key

• Blue: Online sportsbooks and boxing betting apps are legal
• Green: Retail sportsbooks only (no online betting)
• Red: Legal boxing betting coming soon; legislation passed but awaiting implementation

Best Boxing Betting Apps

Identifying the best boxing betting site for your needs begins with understanding which online sportsbooks are licensed in your state. From there, it’s a matter of narrowing down the choices to find sportsbooks that suit you.

Licensed Boxing Betting Sites

The legalization of sports betting has drastically improved the quality of online sportsbooks across the board. Where once online boxing betting was the realm of offshore sportsbooks with questionable security standards, boxing fans today can do business with mainstream operators such as MGM Resorts International, Caesars Entertainment, and DraftKings, among others.

Readers can see our recommendations above to get started. BettingUSA recommends licensed sportsbooks only and strongly advises readers to stay far away from illegal offshore operators.

In most states with legal sports betting, the regulator in charge of approving sportsbooks maintains a public list of licensees that bettors can check to verify any operator’s license. For example, New Jersey lists licensed operators here while Illinois lists its licensees here.

Readers can see our state guides here for up-to-date lists of licensed boxing betting sites in every state and more information specific to each state.

Selecting The Right Boxing Betting App

Not all legal and licensed betting apps are great at everything. Some specialize in event coverage and are willing to offer odds on undercards and other non-championship fights. Others cover fewer fights but support a wider variety of betting options, including over/under markets, alternative lines, and props.

Before downloading and placing a deposit on a boxing betting app, take account of its strengths and weaknesses. Ultimately, choose an app that fits your specific betting needs. Here are a few basic factors to consider:

Event Coverage and Boxing Betting Markets

Most sportsbooks do an admirable job covering the highlight boxing bouts every year. When it comes to ultra-high-profile title fights, almost any boxing betting app will be at least adequate.

The tricky part is finding online sportsbooks that offer in-depth options for betting on boxing year-round and cover matchups big and small with a wide range of bet types.

The best boxing betting apps offer moneyline odds on all notable fights, at minimum. Some go a step further, and post at least a few prop categories in the lead-up to the match.

Early Boxing Lines

Some sportsbooks are eager to post lines on boxing matches well into the future, while others take a more conservative approach. Generally speaking, bettors will have an easier time generating value on apps that accept boxing wagers weeks or even months before the opening bell rings.

Books that post early lines also have more event coverage by default. The very best boxing betting apps will take action on moneyline wagers and props at least two weeks before a championship or celebrity match.

Boxing Betting Odds

Casual and serious bettors alike benefit from selecting betting apps that offer fair odds. Granted, in the legal sports betting industry there aren’t many sites that price gouge customers, but some offer significantly better lines than others.

The house edge on boxing matches skews high compared to other professional sports, so it’s even more important that boxing fans shop around. Just keep in mind that some sites offer better odds in different areas. One may be known for its great moneyline odds, while another has lousy moneylines but better-than-average prop pricing.

Don’t just assume that because the odds on a few markets are poor, they all are.

Promotions And Loyalty Programs

Most sportsbooks elect to reward players that give them action. However, the frequency at which player kickbacks are awarded and their size varies.

Some books play small ball, and roll out a variety of daily odds boosts and minor promotions. Others have loyalty programs, which reward volume bettors with better and more rewards as they escalate the program’s tiers.

A few sportsbooks have cut off promotions almost entirely, instead relying solely on the strength of their platform. Sometimes these books are worth a second look, as they may offer better boxing lines to compensate for the lack of promos.

Banking Options

One of the legal sports betting industry’s biggest advantages over shady offshore sites is that they accept far most depositing options. They also are mandated by law to provide speedy and accurate payouts. Players will never have to worry about their funds being locked up for more than the day or so it takes to process cashout requests.

However, some boxing betting apps offer stronger cashiers their others. The top tier will allow bettors to link their checking accounts for quick deposits and withdrawals and will allow deposits via credit & debit cards, PayPal, and prepaid Play+ cards. Some will even accept cash deposits at affiliated land-based casinos.

Before committing to a sports betting app, ensure that it accepts your preferred deposit method. Also, be on the lookout for apps that have instituted rapid payouts. This innovation, which processes withdrawals from trusted customers instantaneously, is becoming more widespread and is a welcome relief for bettors inclined to cancel their withdrawals.

Quality Boxing Betting Platform

Boxing isn’t a huge betting market. The number of listed events rarely exceeds 20, and most betting apps only offer a handful of boxing props. Therefore, as long as the user interface is clean and doesn’t lock up too badly during in-play periods, it’ll be good enough.

However, bettors who wager on boxing matches and other markets, like MLB and NFL, will want an app that neatly categories all wagers, and provides useful bet filters. They’ll also want a Bet Slip with enough bells and whistles that adding, combining, and selecting different bet formats like teasers and round robins isn’t a chore.

Finally, the best apps integrate all of their gaming verticals under one roof and don’t require bettors to download a different app for each state market.

To get a more objective picture of the best boxing betting sites, BettingUSA compared the offerings at many mainstream sportsbooks on a random day to see which tends to provide the most consistent coverage, best odds and promotions, and widest variety of boxing betting markets.

These findings are just a snapshot in time, but they serve as a good starting point for bettors to compare boxing sportsbooks by measurable standards. BettingUSA looked only at major sportsbooks that are operational in multiple states.

BetMGM Boxing Betting

BetMGM Sportsbook appears to take the quality over quantity approach. Other sportsbooks cover more boxing matches, but none offer as granular a betting experience. BetMGM offers the most betting markets for fights it does cover. It’s an easy choice for high-profile bouts unless you’re absolutely committed to finding the very best lines.

• Upcoming Matches Listed: 12, early moneylines listed one month in advance; early props listed ~1 week in advance
• Props: Method of victory, round group betting, fight to go the distance, round to win, and much more
• Alternative O/U Rounds: No
• Loyalty Program: BetMGM Rewards, integrated with MGM’s flagship loyalty program, MGM Rewards

BetMGM also offers moneyline, 3-way moneylines, over/under round totals (but not alternative totals), along with some very creative bets like if a boxer will be “Gone in 60 Seconds.” Another nice touch is that it divides its round group bets into four different props, ranging from two round groups up to six round groups.

One of the more unique prop bets is “Final Judgement”. This wager is an extension of the method of victory prop, and tasks bettors with choosing both the winner of the fight and how it will end. Another favorite is “Down but Not Out” where bettors wager on a fighter to get knocked down and still win. It goes without saying that this prop offers attractive payouts.

However, BetMGM’s boxing market isn’t without its flaws. The most notable is that the moneyline and 3-way odds could be better. The average house edge on these wagers is about 6-8%, which isn’t terrible, but far from the best.

On a brighter note, the vigorish on prop bets is lower than average, which is really important considering how many boxing props are on display.

DraftKings Boxing Betting

DraftKings Sportsbook covers more boxing matches than BetMGM but doesn’t go into as great detail for each fight, especially undercards. The app is widely available, though, and is an excellent choice for frequent boxing bettors.

• Upcoming Matches Listed: 21, early moneylines listed 2-3 months in advance; early props listed ~1 week early
• Props: Method of victory, round group betting, fight to go the distance, and more
• Alternative O/U Rounds: No
• Loyalty Program: DraftKings Dynasty

DraftKings offers a few interesting props, but nothing too outlandish.

Round props are broken down into wagers on individual rounds and groups of three and six rounds. Apps like BetMGM do a lot more here.

There’s also a “Round of Decision” prop where bettors can choose the exact round the fight will end or if it will go the distance. Although this wager is extremely high variance, the payouts can be mammoth. It’s a nice variant of the less exciting “Fight to Go the Distance? Yes/No” prop.

Over/Unders are listed for bigger fights, which is more than can be said about some other boxing betting apps. Unfortunately, 3-way moneylines are usually not supported.

Overall, the pricing on DraftKings is solid. Moneylines and totals are taxed at about 5.5% which is quite reasonable for boxing. The vigorish on props, and especially multi-option props, is considerably higher. The high house edge on props combined with their scattered coverage makes DraftKings a fairly poor option for boxing prop bettors.

As far as extras go, DraftKings will only occasionally offer boxing-specific promos to the public, usually by way of profit boosts.

However, the app’s loyalty program is second to none. The only problem with Dynasty Rewards is that the best rewards and exclusive promotions are locked behind the program’s two highest annual tiers (Diamond and Onyx), and it’ll take a lot of grinding to reach them. Yet, small-time bettors can still claim a bevy of micro rewards.

FanDuel Boxing Betting

FanDuel Sportsbook is a reputable and well-known sportsbook, but it wasn’t always strong on boxing. However, it’s recently upped its game, and now offers odds on a very respectable number of upcoming fights along with a suitable number of wagers for each.

• Upcoming Matches Listed: 19, early moneylines and props listed up to 6 months in advance
• Props: Method of victory, round betting, fight to go the distance, group and alternative group round betting
• Alternative O/U Rounds: No
• Loyalty Program: VIP Perks

The biggest benefit of betting boxing on FanDuel is its early mover advantage. FanDuel has seemingly little issue with posting moneylines on fights that are still months away. It even posts props on championship fights well before training camp. For instance, on a title fight more than three months out, it already posted odds for round betting, method of victory, group round props, and a few others.

Even small-scale fights receive the full FanDuel treatment, featuring moneylines and 3-way wagers, along with 6-7 prop categories. FanDuel posts alternative group round bets in spreads of two, three, four, and six rounds, matching BetMGM.

The boxing odds on FanDuel are roughly average. Moneylines have about a 4 – 6.5% house edge, depending on the difference in skill between the two fighters. The vigorish on Yes/No props is about 6.5%, and its 12% on multi-outcome props like the method of victory. Surprisingly, 12% is the lowest tax that BettingUSA witnessed in its analysis of this particular prop.

FanDuel doesn’t advertise many boxing promos, nor does it support a concrete loyalty program. High rollers can inquire about joining FanDuel’s VIP Perks program, but there are no specific qualification criteria listed. The lack of kickbacks directed as casual bettors knock FanDuel down a peg.

BetRivers Boxing Betting

BetRivers Sportsbook is a mixed bag for boxing bettors. On one hand, it supports a few features that are hard to find elsewhere. Yet, its event coverage and betting odds are in the lower middle of the pack.

• Upcoming Matches Listed: 12, early moneylines listed 2-3 months in advance; early props listed a couple of days early
• Props: Method of victory, fight to go the distance, round betting, match events
• Alternative O/U Rounds: Yes
• Loyalty Program: iRush Rewards

Depending on the prestige of the fight, BetRivers may offer two bets or 50. The differential really is that big, making BetRivers a more ideal spot for boxing bettors who only wager on heavily marketed matchups. However, even for championship fights, props don’t go up until a few days before the actual event.

When BetRivers does go all out, its boxing betting menus rival BetMGM. In fact, it’s the only app BettingUSA knows of that supports alternative total rounds. If the main Over/Under is listed at 8.5 rounds, bettors can slide all the way down to 3.5, in one-round increments.

Beyond the usual moneylines and props, BetRivers often supports a couple of niche bets. These wagers are listed under the “Match Events” category. There, players may find Yes/No wagers on whether a fight will reach a certain round, among others.

BetRivers has an aggressive promotional schedule, with full calendars for both regular bettors and VIPs. Players also earn Tier Status and Bonus Points on every boxing wager, via the stellar iRush Rewards program.

Despite its strengths, BetRivers can be hard to recommend at times due to the high vigorish (6.5 – 8%) on boxing moneylines and totals. Prop pricing is better, but only to the point where it ranks as average. If the house edge came down just 1% across the board, BetRivers would be a contender for the best boxing betting app.

Best Boxing Moneylines: Caesars Sportsbook

Caesars Sportsbook can be difficult to navigate and doesn’t cover a ton of boxing events, but there’s no disputing that its boxing moneylines are a knockout.

A small sampling of upcoming fights revealed an average house edge on two-way moneylines of just 4.05%. That is extraordinary as far as boxing moneylines go.

Going further, when Caesars offers round over/under wagers, bettors will be treated to very competitive odds, second to BetMGM. It’s just too bad Caesars rarely posts these wagers.

In short, boxing bettors are highly encouraged to keep Caesars Sportsbook on their rotation, if only for popular bets on high-profile fights.

Boxing Betting Bonuses and Promotions

Boxing fans live in a feast-or-famine world when it comes to sports betting promotions. Online sportsbooks tend to break out the best boxing betting bonuses during the lead-up to high-profile fights, then tighten their promotional drawstrings until the next big matchup approaches.

Fortunately, most betting sites offer recurrent non-specific promotions that work just as well for boxing as for any other sport. Some examples include promotions that award odds boost tokens or bonus bets that customers can use on any sporting event.

So, although pure boxing promotions are infrequent, fans can usually find worthwhile offers to use on even the smallest fights. But when big fights approach, bettors should be on the lookout for boxing-specific promos such as enhanced odds on specific prop bets, bonus bets for placing any wager on the upcoming fight, reload bonuses, and refunds on losing wagers.

Additionally, fans who don’t already have accounts with all the major boxing betting sites can claim thousands of dollars in new customer bonuses regardless of whether a big fight is imminent.

New Customer Boxing Betting Bonuses

All high-quality boxing betting sites welcome new customers with sizable bonuses that significantly increase the bottom line.

If you plan to bet on an upcoming fight and don’t already have accounts with all the major online sportsbooks licensed in your state, now is an excellent time to sign up at a new betting site and claim its welcome bonus.

Although not specific to boxing, new customer bonuses almost always provide more value than recurrent promos for existing customers. For instance, it’s not uncommon for sportsbooks to offer upwards of $1,000 in bonus bets to new users.

• Second Chance Boxing Bets: Second chance bets are like insurance for anyone planning to bet on boxing online. A standard second chance bonus invites new users to place a wager on an upcoming fight. If the wager loses, the sportsbook will refund the customer with an equal amount in bonus bets.
• Bet and Get Boxing Bonuses: Some boxing betting apps offer a fixed bonus to new users who register and place a first bet, usually with a favorable ratio of bonus funds versus upfront risk. For example, a standard promo of this type offers up to $200 in bonus bets to all new users who place a first boxing bet of $10 or $20.
• First Deposit Boxing Betting Bonuses: A handful of boxing betting sites welcome new customers with bonuses sized as a percentage of their first deposit. For example, a longstanding DraftKings promotion gives new customers an extra 20% on their first deposit for up to $1,000 in site credit. Some sportsbooks offer 100% first deposit bonuses, but they typically max out at just $100 or $200.
• No-Brainer Boxing Betting Promos: On rare occasions, an online sportsbook will change its default welcome bonus ahead of a highly anticipated fight. For example, DraftKings celebrated the second Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury fight by inviting new customers to place a $1 bet to win $100 if either boxer landed a punch at any time during the entire fight.

Recurrent Boxing Betting Promos

The quality of boxing-specific promotions is primarily a function of the fight calendar. Sportsbooks launch their best boxing betting promos ahead of marquee events, but they also offer nonspecific promos year-round that bettors can leverage to fill in the gaps between big matchups.

Here are some of the most common types of boxing betting promos that are open to new and existing customers alike.

• Boxing Betting Profit Boosts: Profit boost promotions enhance the payouts on winning bets. If a customer places a boxing wager that typically yields $100 in winnings, they will receive $120 in payouts with a 20% profit boost.
• Boxing Odds Boosts: Boxing betting odds boosts are like profit boosts but apply the boost upfront. For example, a wager on Boxer A to win the fight might be +120 in normal conditions and +150 under an odds boost. Typically, odds boosts apply to specific wagers only, while profit boosts are often issued as tokens that customers can apply to any bet.
• Bonus Bets for Big Fights: A few sportsbooks inevitably offer bonus bets to customers who place wagers on high-profile boxing matchups. For example, Caesars Sportsbook once offered a $50 bonus bet to every customer who wagered $100 or more on an upcoming heavyweight bout.
• Insurance on Boxing Bets: Another common theme among online boxing betting promotions is to offer refunds on specific markets for an upcoming match. For example, a sportsbook may refund anyone who bets on the “go the distance” market and loses. Sportsbooks almost always pay refunds as bonus bets or site credit.
• Boxing Betting Rewards Programs: Sports betting loyalty programs can provide significant value to frequent bettors through bonus bets, exclusive promotions, merchandise, and more. However, rewards programs aren’t hugely beneficial for people who only bet on boxing online occasionally during major matchups. On the other hand, fans who frequently bet on smaller fights and other sports should consider each sportsbook’s loyalty program when choosing where to bet online.
• Bonus Bets for Existing Customers: Occasionally, fans will find bonus bets when logging in to their preferred boxing betting apps. Sometimes, these bonus bets have no strings attached, and fans can use them on any sport. In other cases, bettors must complete a specific action like depositing funds or placing a wager. The random nature of these promos harms their utility for specific fights, but boxing fans can maintain accounts with several online sportsbooks to increase the frequency with which they receive bonus bets.

How To Bet On Boxing Online

With two competitors, twelve rounds, and action limited to punching, boxing does not lend itself to a massive wagering menu. Even so, sportsbooks do manage to provide a decent variety of boxing bets and props if they choose to cover a fight in great detail.

Naturally, the few high-profile fights each year tend to feature the most extensive variety of betting markets. While smaller fights may be limited to betting on who will win the match, bigger fights often feature all of the following types of bets.

Below we describe how boxing betting works, and the types of wagers that can be made on upcoming fights:

Boxing Moneyline

Boxing moneylines are simple wagers on who will win an upcoming fight. You choose your boxer, place your bet, and get paid if your boxer’s hand is raised at the end of the match. Whether your fighter wins via first-round knockout or at the end of a 12-round war, your bet pays if you correctly predict the winner.

A standard boxing moneyline wager looks like this:

• Fighter X: -165
• Fighter Y: +120

In this example, Fighter X is priced at -165 as the betting favorite. From this, we know that for every $1.65 you bet on Fighter X, you stand to win $1.00 in net profits. For example, a $165 bet on Fighter X will pay $100 if he wins for a total return of $265 ($165 wager + $100 profit).

Fighter Y is priced at +120 as the underdog in this matchup. For every $1.00 you wager on Fighter Y, you stand to win $1.20 in net profits if he wins. A $100 wager on Fighter Y will return $220 if he wins ($100 wager + $120 profit).

Sportsbooks try to set boxing betting odds to attract a roughly equal amount of action on both sides and will adjust odds on sharp action. Looking at the example above, we can see the public views Fighter X as a small favorite.

By making it a little more expensive to bet on the favorite and a little cheaper to bet on the underdog, the sportsbook can make both sides of the boxing bet equally attractive to get as close as possible to a balanced book. Ideally, the sportsbook can pay the winners with the losers’ money and keep what’s left over as profit.

It’s worth noting that if a fight ends in a draw, all standard moneyline wagers are graded as a push. Wagers on either fighter will be refunded in full.

3-Way Boxing Moneylines

This bet type functions like the standard moneyline but adds the draw as one more potential outcome.

The presence of the draw outcome makes the bet slightly harder to win because it adds one more avenue for your wager to lose. In a 3-way moneyline, a draw results in your wager losing unless you bet on the draw outcome.

However, 3-way moneylines offer the advantage of slightly higher payouts and the option to bet on a draw for a large payout. Just be cognizant that draws don’t happen very often in boxing.

Using the same fight from our example above, a three-way moneyline would look like this:

• Fighter X: -150
• Fighter Y: +125
• Tie: +1800

Typically, the vigorish on 3-way moneylines is significantly higher compared to standard moneylines. A 2% differential is not common. Part of the reason for this is that the sportsbook is taking a huge liability risk by offering a draw option. Draws are typically offered at very long odds, so when they do hit, the book can take a massive loss.

Round Totals

In a round total bet, the sportsbook posts a round, and your goal is to predict whether the fight will end before or after that point.

A typical boxing total looks like this:

• Match to end in under 10.5 rounds: -286
• Match to end after 10.5 rounds: +205

In this example, the sportsbook has set the total at 10.5 rounds. If you think the fight will end before the 1:30 mark of the 10^th round, you would take the under for -286. If you believe the match is more likely to go the distance, you would take the over at +205.

Alternate Round Totals

Occasionally, a boxing betting app may offer alternate round totals at varying odds. For instance, one sportsbook recently offered these alternate totals and prices for the same fight used in our above examples:

• Under 2 rounds: +4,000
• 2 rounds or more: -10,000
• Less than 4 rounds: +1,100
• 4 rounds or more: -5,000
• Less than 6 rounds: +700
• 6 rounds or more: -1,600
• Less than 8 rounds: +400
• 8 rounds or more: -700
• Less than 10 rounds: +250
• 10 rounds or more: -350

Method of Victory

The method of victory bet involves picking the fighter and the method of victory. If you want to shoot for a larger payout and have a good read on the match, you can bet on the method of victory to secure a larger win if your prediction is correct.

A method of victory bet looks something like this:

• Fighter X to win by KO, TKO, Tech Decision, or DQ: +350
• Fighter X to win on points: +140
• Tie: +1800
• Fighter Y to win on points: +225
• Fighter Y to win by KO, TKO, Tech Decision, or DQ: +500

The vigorish on multi-option bets like the method of victory tends to skew toward the higher side. It’s not quite as high as other multi-option wagers like futures, but can reach about 15%+.

Individual Round Betting

Some of the highest-paying bets found in a boxing match are individual round predictions. In individual round bets, the bettor must predict the winning fighter and the exact round of victory.

For example:

• Fighter X in round 1: +6,600
• Fighter X in round 2: +5,000
• Fighter X in round 3: +3,300
• Etc.

Round Group Betting

Round group betting offers relatively high payouts, but the bettor must accurately predict the winning fighter and the range of rounds during which that victory will occur.

For example:

• Fighter X in rounds 1-3: +2,000
• Fighter X in rounds 4-6: +1,200
• Fighter X in rounds 7-9: +1,000
• Fighter X in rounds 10-12: +1,200
• Fighter X on points: +140
• Fighter Y in rounds 1-3: +3,300
• Fighter Y in rounds 4-6: +2,000
• Fighter Y in rounds 7-9: +1,200
• Fighter Y in rounds 10-12: +1,600
• Fighter Y on points: +225
• Tie: +1,800

In some cases, sportsbooks also offer alternate round group betting with bigger bands of rounds. With larger round ranges, the bets are easier to win but pay a little less:

• Fighter X in rounds 1-6: +800
• Fighter X in rounds 7-12: +600
• Fighter X on points: +140
• Fighter Y in rounds 1-6: +1,400
• Fighter Y in rounds 7-12: +700
• Fighter Y on points: +225
• Tie: +1,800

The bands are typically offered in groups of three and six, but the most ambitious books will extend to groups of four and sometimes two.

Boxing Betting Futures

Sports betting futures cover major events and outcomes well in advance, such as which MLB team will win the World Series or how many wins your favorite NFL team will record over the next season.

There are not as many options for futures in boxing due to the lack of a formal season and the uncertain scheduling of championship bouts. Most boxing futures deal with hypothetical matchups that might one day happen in the future.

For example, if rumors begin floating that two unbeaten champions are in talks to schedule a fight, sportsbooks may begin offering futures on who will win the match if it ever happens.

Bettors should be aware that these bets can hold your money in limbo for an extended period. Usually, the wager specifies that if the bout doesn’t happen within X number of months, the sportsbook will return any pending wagers to customers.

Some boxing betting sites may also offer futures on who will win the next Golden Gloves National Tournament of Champions, but this is a rare bet to find. Other potential futures include betting on the next heavyweight champion in various boxing organizations such as:

• WBA
• WBC
• IBF
• WBO

Boxing Prop Bets

Boxing prop bets cover all aspects of a fight unrelated to who will win. Sportsbooks can be quite creative when it comes to prop bets, covering various topics such as how many punches Fighter X will land, whether Fighter X will score a knockdown, whether Fighter Y will be knocked down and still win, and more.

Sportsbooks often host many props for high-profile matchups and rarely offer boxing props for smaller fights among lesser-known boxers.

In-Play Boxing Betting

The frequent breaks in professional boxing make the sport work well with basic in-play markets such as updated betting odds on who will win the fight after each round, if there will be a knockdown in the next round, and if someone will win in the next round.

The opportunities for in-play boxing betting are few and far between due to the rarity of fights big enough to warrant sportsbooks’ time investment. Generally, fans can expect to find live boxing betting just once in a while during major matchups.

In-play boxing betting gives bettors the obvious advantage of getting a chance to watch each boxer’s form for a couple of rounds on fight night before making a selection rather than trying to make predictions based on previous fights that may have occurred months or even more than a year ago.

Of course, the downside to in-play betting is that the oddsmakers adjust boxing odds in real time. If one boxer comes out looking extra sharp or slow on his feet, expect the live odds to change accordingly. Not to mention, sportsbooks offset the additional measure of uncertainty that comes with in-play wagering by juicing up the lines.

Betting on Celebrity Boxing Matches

Celebrity boxing matches generate significant interest among fans, but they can present challenges for the nation’s licensed sportsbooks. Betting on celebrity boxing matches is legal in most states, but oddsmakers must approach each bout individually to determine if they can offer markets on any particular matchup.

For example, the 2021 Floyd Mayweather vs. Logan Paul fight generated more than one million pay-per-view buys at nearly $50 apiece. Despite the obvious interest in the fight and untapped demand for boxing betting lines, sportsbooks were unable to offer odds on the match due to the highly regulated nature of sports betting.

Each state regulates sports betting differently, but regulators in every jurisdiction ultimately decide which leagues and events local sportsbooks may cover. Generally, regulators only sign off on events sanctioned by a recognized athletic body. If a boxing match isn’t sanctioned, bettors are unlikely to find odds on it.

The Mayweather-Paul fight was problematic in this regard because they held it under exhibition rules without judges, there was no way to determine a winner barring a knockout, and it wasn’t sanctioned by the Florida State Boxing Commission.

However, celebrity boxing betting does occasionally generate a ton of handle. The 2017 Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor boxing match generated $65 million worth of wagers in Nevada alone, nearly half of what fans wagered on the previous Super Bowl. That occurred almost a year before the Supreme Court overturned the federal sports betting prohibition and well before dozens of states had legalized sports betting.

Similarly, legal sportsbooks took action on both of Jake Paul’s 2021 fights against Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley because they were held as professional, sanctioned fights. The same goes for Paul’s fight against Nate Diaz in 2023.

Sports Betting and Boxing: A Complicated Relationship

Even when we set sports betting aside, boxing has struggled with a poor reputation for decades. Allegations of match fixing, intentional dives, and crooked judges routinely plague the sport even though the reality is that most boxing matches are clean. It’s tough to convince most boxers, people who dedicate their lives and health to training and fighting, to throw a fight for any amount of money.

Still, perception is reality for many, and past scandals have tarnished the image of professional boxing. Add betting to the mix and you have a sport that must be very careful in how it presents itself to the public.

The legalization of sports betting may be a good thing in that regard. In the days when Nevada had a monopoly over sports betting in the United States, the vast majority of boxing bets placed in the US went to underground bookies and offshore sportsbooks where regulations are lax and enforcement nonexistent.

Regulation should instead contribute to helping the sport clean up its nature. The one-on-one nature of boxing does make it easier for one participant to throw a match or even just a single round, but that also makes corruption easier to detect.

States that have legalized sports betting require licensed sportsbooks to monitor for suspicious betting patterns and send reports to authorities for follow-up investigations if necessary.

The spread of legalization also presents other questions to regulators. For example, are boxers obligated to report injuries just before a high-profile match, considering there are potentially millions of dollars’ worth of wagers sitting on the outcome? If not, how do regulators stop insiders from sharing information unknown to the public?

For better or worse, boxing and sports betting are growing closer to one another. In December 2020, BetMGM Sportsbook partnered with sports streaming service DAZN to provide live boxing odds and betting insight on DAZN streams. The deal marked the first of its kind, as boxing adjusts to the reality of widespread legal sports betting.

Boxing Betting FAQ