Betting On Boxing

No sport is more synonymous with betting than boxing, a fact amply demonstrated by the promoters' choosing to set the vast majority of fights in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. We all have hallowed movie memories of the noble contenders who refuse to take a dive and the fallen champs who do. Gambling is in the fabric of the sport; without betting, boxing might not even be a sport at all.

Boxing matches used to last 40 rounds or more, and were harrowing tests of endurance as much as brute strength or honed skills. Today, many a fan has spent a ton of cash to get the fight on pay-per-view only to have it end 46 seconds into the first round. Betting on which round a fight will end is thus a very popular part of boxing wagering.

On the Ropes and in the Green

Betting on boxing is as much a social event as it is a gambling one, as anyone who has been to Vegas on a fight night can attest. There's a buzz that envelops the whole town, and first-time bettors queue up to put money on a fight as if it were a badge of honor. Strangers become friends--either in celebration or commiseration--when someone goes down for the count.

That feeling can be achieved without having to get on a plane, by simply placing a bet online in one of a variety of offshore betting sites. Community comes in the form of raucous message boards, conference calls with old college buddies, and a living room full of your friends and neighbors asking for a refill. Placing a bet on a fight is part of the price of admission to truly enter the world of boxing.