How can punters try and profit from betting on boxing?

Carl Froch v George Groves 2 at Wembley on Saturday will mean a big payday for the fighters, the promoters and the TV companies – but what’s the best way for punters to try and get in the money when betting on boxing?

This weekend’s action in north London marks the biggest-ever UK crowd to witness a night of boxing.

As well as the highlight of Froch v Groves from 10pm, there is a strong support card starting from 6.30pm featuring Anthony Joshua v Matt Legg, Jamie McDonnell v Tabtimdaeng Na Rachawat, Kevin Mitchell v Ghislain Maduma and James DeGale v Brandon Gonzales.

The event is sure to give a boost to the profile of the sport with comparisons already being drawn to the classic Nigel Benn v Chris Eubank fights of the 1990s - and it’s also guaranteed to mean a surge in the numbers of punters betting on boxing.

So just how do you go about trying to make profits when having a bet on the action in the ring?

Fixed odds betting on boxing

When placing fixed odds bets on boxing, the most popular markets to choose from are simple winner prices plus, round of victory and method of victory.

So, for example, ahead of the main event on Saturday, Spreadex has Froch – controversial winner in the sixth round in the first bout in Manchester in November last year – as 4/6 favourite, with Groves a 13/10 shot and the draw at 25/1.

The first thing to notice with a fight which is so close to call is that there is limited opportunity to make much over even money by simply backing either fighter.

So the round of victory can offer some longer odds and is hugely popular among boxing punters. Should Groves repeat his first round knockdown from the last bout, but this time keep Froch on the canvas, then victory for the Londoner in round 1 would return 40/1.

Froch is also 40/1 to win in the first round but is more fancied to end the bout in either the seventh, eighth, ninth or tenth – all priced at 16/1.

Groves has promised a fast start and victory for the challenger in the fourth, fifth or sixth are all priced at 28/1 with Spreadex.

As for method of victory, Froch by TKO is priced as the most likely end to the fight at 15/8 with Groves by TKO 9/2. Froch by straight knockout is 7/1 and given Froch’s renowned warrior-like ability to withstand punches, a Groves win by KO is 20/1.

You can also bet on further methods of victory such as if either fighter wins by disqualification, retirement of their opponent or, if the fight goes the distance, whether each man wins via a technical decision, unanimous decision, majority decision or split decision. You can also bet on which rounds the fighters win on the scorecard.

Spread betting on boxing

If that’s not enough choice, you also have the option of playing the boxing spread betting markets with Spreadex. The important thing to highlight straight away is that unlike fixed odds betting, with spread betting you can lose more than your initial stake should the bet go against you.

When placing boxing spread bets, the first market many look at is the 10-3 Supremacy. This is where spread betting companies put out a spread showing who they think is the stronger fighter based on 10 points being awarded to the eventual winner plus a further 3 points awarded for every round remaining.

So, based on the outcome in Manchester, when Froch won in the ninth, this market would have made-up at 19 points in Froch’s favour as the Nottingham man was awarded 10 points for the win plus 9 points (3 x 3) for the remaining rounds left in the fight.

The 10-3 Supremacy quote for the latest clash is Froch/Groves 3.5 – 6.5. So if you bought £10 at 6.5 and Froch again won in the ninth, you would make a profit of £125 ((19 – 6.5) x £10).

However, if Groves won a battle royale in the 12th then the make-up would be 10 points to Groves and the £10 buy of Froch at 6.5 would lose £165 ((-6.5 - 10) x £10).

Each fighter is also given a 50-25-10 spread based on 50 points awarded if they win the fight by KO, TKO or disqualification, 25 if they win on points, 10 if the fight is drawn and 0 if they lose. Froch’s 50-25-10 price is 23.5 – 26.5 while Groves’ is 13.5 – 16.5.

Another popular boxing spread betting selection is betting on the length of time the fight will last via Fight Minutes. Spreadex price Froch v Groves 2 Fight Minutes at between 25.25 – 26.75 minutes, meaning it’s estimated that fight will end in the second-half of the ninth round, regardless of who actually wins.

This is a great bet to place if you have no particular allegiance towards either fighter – and can also be seen as some sort of financial compensation against the fight finishing early. It’s always a paying spectator’s dread that a fight is over within the first three minutes after such a big build up.

So to make up for any disappointment with a monetary win, spread betters can ‘sell’ fight minutes and turn a profit if the bout ends prematurely. E.g. a £10 sell of Fight Minutes at 25.25 for Froch v Groves 2 would return profits of £222.50 ((25.25 – 3) x £10) if the fight ends in the third minute. However, remember your downside that if the fight went the distance, then that bet would lose £107.50.

So whether you end up plumping for the fixed odds or spreads when placing your boxing bets, Spreadex is sure to have plenty of knockout selections which will hopefully leave your regular bookies’ selections looking punch drunk.