Boxing is a sport where marquee fights feel like a real event, with the promotion of said fights making them feel more significant than most team sporting events. As a result, betting on boxing matches is extremely popular, as bettors want to get in on the action when the big fight is on. But many bettors want to know what they stand to win when they place a wager on a boxing match before they get involved.
How Much Do I Win If I Bet $100 On a Boxing Match?
The short answer to this question is that the payout on boxing matches varies depending on the fighters involved and the odds for the fight. No two boxing matches feature the same fighters, meaning that no two fights feature the same matchups and that each fight has its own unique odds based on those factors. So there is no set amount that a bettor stands to win when they put $100 on a boxing match.
Payouts for boxing matches also vary based on whether a bettor takes the favorite or the underdog in a match. Only in rare cases do both fighters in a match have the same odds to win a fight. Bettors who back the favorite in a bout have to risk more to win their desired amount, while bettors who back the underdog can win the same amount with a smaller financial investment involved.
Understanding Boxing Odds
To figure out what a bettor could make from a $100 bet on a boxing match, bettors have to understand how boxing odds work. Each boxer has an odds value listed for a fight, with one fighter’s odds coming with a plus sign next to them and one with a minus sign. The favorite in a fight is the one with negative odds, with those odds signifying the amount a bettor needs to risk to win $100, while the underdog’s odds are the plus value, which signifies the amount a bettor would win if they risked $100 on that fighter.
For example, let’s say that Floyd Mayweather is a -500 favorite against Manny Pacquiao, who is a +300 underdog. In this scenario, a bettor would have to risk $500 to win $100 on Mayweather, meaning that a $100 bet on Mayweather would yield $20. On the flip side, Pacquiao’s +300 odds mean that a $100 bet on him would result in a return of $300, a much better return on investment than taking the favorite.
Who to Bet On
Which side is the better side to wager on in a boxing match depends on which fighters are squaring off and which side has the better chance to win the match. There are plenty of fights where the favorite has the best chance to win, but favorites are far from guarantees to win each bout. Underdogs always have a chance to win, and bettors who identify when they have the best chance to win can make tidy profits at plus prices.
Handicapping boxing requires bettors to figure out which fighter is going to be able to do the best job of imposing their will on a fight. The more aggressive fighter can likely pick up early rounds but must also have the stamina to avoid being picked apart late. Knockout power is a nice thing to have but can be neutralized by an elite defender.
The ultimate goal for bettors is to assess the probability of a fighter coming out of a fight with a victory and to compare that probability to the odds of the fight. If the probability of a fighter winning is better than the implied probability suggested by the betting odds, that is the value bettors have to take advantage of.
