Whether you are just getting started in boxing betting or you are an experienced bettor in sports betting in general, some tricks and tips never get old and you need to have them at your fingertips. Before we even get into it, be sure to read visit here at Smartbettingguide for more guides.
Here are the must-know boxing bets tips and tricks:
Don’t Fall for The Hype
Boxing is known for its outsize hype machine right before any major fight. The hype in boxing can be tricky as well – a great promoter is always going to build their fighter up to something the fighter isn’t.
You are going to see this happen early with professional fighters in situations where the opponent has been largely unproven or comes with unknown quality.
Still, a great early record can be a good promotional/selling point and can be equally deceptive. Try to evaluate an opponent beyond their records.
A good example of this is Anthony Joshua’s earlier title fights.
Before meeting Joshua, both Martin and Breazeale had impressive unbeaten records. These fighters also had better number records compared to Joshua just before they met him. But Anthony devastated them – each lasted barely 10 rounds before a knockout.
With that said, it is important to look at a bigger picture by comparing all the important records and styles between any two fighters. You should also compare the previous fighters they met. What are the styles of involved fighters? Have their opponents beaten or knocked out anyone notable?
You should know that inflated records are designed to make lots of money for broadcasters and promoters in the world of boxing. For that reason, ensure you read between these records and utilize them to your advantage by finding value in the market where other bettors are going to bet with less knowledge.
Resist Betting On All Fights You See On the Card
There’s always an urge to bet on every fight you see on the boxing card either because they look too predictable for you or you just want to maximize your earnings.
This can be perfectly okay if you are betting for the sheer fun of it and don’t care whether you win or not. But if you are attempting to be a successful sports bettor, it is one of the most disastrous things you could do.
Stick to the fights on which you have strong predictions and abandon those you don’t. If you find yourself too sure of many fights, scale down and choose a few you are most convinced to win.
Remember, most professional sports bettors often bet on just one fight out of the entire list on the card – and it doesn’t even need to be the most popular event or main fight.
Sometimes the best decision you could arrive at (financial-wise) is to never place a wager, not even one! The more disciplined the bettor is with choosing and picking bets, the higher the chances of winning.
Use Your Head to Bet, Not Your Heart
Tribal passion is common in professional sports betting, not just in boxing. It occurs when the bettor is too passionate about their teams either through their attachment to the club or family links or even the mere fact that the sportsperson or club is based in their hometown or neighborhood.
Boxing is unique among professional sports because loyalties are extremely rare – chances are very slim that you come from the same neighborhood as Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury. Even if you do, these two are less likely to fight twice in a single year. This creates a new problem. The near-total lack of identity or association to one fighter (unlike your hometown football team) means that fans are more likely to pick a boxer they feel fond of, and another they dislike.
In team sports like football, you won’t care much about who wins besides your team. This neutrality helps you bet with a straight and clear head instead of your heart. Boxing is slightly different – it is near impossible to watch two neutral fighters without getting to like or favor one of them, even when you have never seen them fight before.
This means that, in boxing, it is easier to lose focus and get carried away just to end up betting with your heart.
Don’t Get Too Much Ahead of Yourself – Don’t Play Yourself, Basically
One of the hardest things you could try is to get an objective perspective in any fight. That is, it’s harder to place your bet on any fighter you want to win the bout, and also one with true value.
Too many times bettors find themselves inventing their ways on how a certain fighter can win without noticing that it is very unlikely.
Up to the bout with Andy Ruiz Jr. we all knew Anthony Joshua as a huge masculine fighter that had beaten all other equally huge guys in his path. If you are Anthony Joshua’s fan, you might have predicted a win from this standpoint. However, we all forgot he had never fought a short yet stout guy like Ruiz.
Another example is Khan vs. Canelo. We all knew Khan for his quick hands and anyone could easily make a case for him. If that fight lasted 12 rounds, Khan would’ve won. But then, he was prone to walk into the opponents’ punches, something that proved to be (and one that could be foreseen) a Waterloo for him against a collected guy like Canelo.
Avoiding to play yourself is tricky, but the trick is to avoid involving yourself too much in the fight. Rather, base your decisions on data and other metrics that can’t be compromised with your prejudices.
Understand Stylistic Matchups
No two fighters fight the same way. Also, fighters don’t face different opponent styles the same way. You need to have an understanding of how the fighters (on your card) like to fight. Find out how they match with their opponents’ style.
If a certain fighter is known to be a power puncher but with a weakness against speed and quickness, it is probably not appropriate to bet on such a fighter when facing a super quick fighter. And if the fighter is a counter puncher with a soft spot for other counter punchers, again, it would be too risky to place your bet on that fighter.
Floyd Mayweather was (or “is” if he ever comes out of retirement again) notoriously defensive that he could run around the ring and even turn his back on the opponent – it made him both boring and easy money, so we all liked to bet on him.
Conclusion
There’s just a lot to learn in boxing betting, like being aware of fighters prone to recurring injuries but whom the media would still hype. Sometimes a training partner can be used to decide whether to bet on a certain fighter against another.
