For those who get their kicks from fight nights, Parimatch provides the ideal platform for anyone in Africa to place bets on top boxing matches from around the world. As the number one online betting platform in Tanzania, Parimatch is proud to present the widest spread of global fighting events for you to wager against the winner.
You can have the chance to lay down real money on the best fighter that you think will win. Using brute force and strength teamed with agility and speed, boxing is the ideal sport to watch two people go head to head to show off their physical prowess in the ring.
Unlike times gone by, Parimatch offers users the chance to make boxing bets from wherever you are with the click of a button. Thanks to our cutting edge online betting application, you can place boxing bets directly from your smart device, without having to arduously wait in lines at the bookies.
No matter the weight category, from bantumweight right through the heavyweight, Parimatch is bringing you a stunning array of boxing events on our easy-to-use platform. With all the top names, from Tyson Fury to Scott Quigg to Anthony Joshua, Parimatch is the perfect online betting platform for laying bets on the winning boxing gloves.
So what are you waiting for? Jump on to the Parimatch platform today and register for an online betting account so that you can enjoy the widest range of global boxing bets in all of Africa.
Contents
1. Betting on Boxing: The Basics
When you bet on a boxing match, you are betting on the boxer that will win the overall match. While these rules might seem easy to follow, betting on boxing can be confusing as you are not betting round for round and you don’t know the judges’ scores until the very end of the match.
In boxing, there is the possibility of up to twelve rounds in a boxing match. However, there can be fewer rounds. If one opponent gets knocked out or gives up, the boxing match finishes. This can potentially happen even in the very first round!
Another thing to remember is that despite the fact that judges score the boxers, this does not necessarily have any bearing on the final outcome. While judges may give Boxer A the highest scores in the first three rounds if Boxer B knocks Boxer A out in the fourth round, Boxer B wins, despite having lower scores in previous rounds. This is especially important to know when betting on a boxer as you may not be betting on the one who will do best in every round. Instead, you may know that one boxer has a lethal punch that could knock out his opponent if he lands a solid whack. In this sense, you may bet on this boxer as he only needs one good punch to knock out his opponent and win the entire match.
Now that the basics are out of the way, let us consider how boxing scoring works as this will help you to understand how to bet on boxing as it may change the way you place your bet — especially if you are betting live. If you can better keep your own idea of scores, you are more likely to pick a winner.
2. How Does Boxing Scoring Work?
As we already know, boxing matches can consist of up to twelve rounds, and often matches finish before the entire twelve rounds. However, it is possible to reach twelve rounds without an opponent being knocked out or giving up. In this case, the winner of the boxing match is determined by the scores given by the judges. There are three judges for each match to ensure that the scoring is fair and that no stalemate is reached.
The scoring system used in boxing is known as the 10-Point Must System. In general, one player is given ten points for the round, while the other is given nine, unless they do particularly badly and then they may be given a few less points. In this sense, most rounds end 10-9 to the dominant boxer.
In general, if Boxer A gets knocked to the ground, they lose a point. If Boxer A is knocked down twice, they will lose a second point. However, on the flip side, if Boxer B is knocked down after Boxer A has been knocked down, their lost points cancel each other out. So imagine that Boxer A has lost two points and has eight points to ten, if Boxer B is then knocked down, the score restores itself to 9-10 as the knockdowns cancel each other out.
It is possible for one boxer to score ten while another scores eight even without any knockdowns but this only occurs if the better fighter completely dominates the round.
The rounds can be deemed as even by the judges. In these cases, the judges will award both boxers ten points.
The other important factor to remember with this scoring system is that the referee can also deduct points if a boxer keeps playing dirty. Fouls can be the cause of deducted points so if you know that one boxer fights dirty, it is worth considering these lost points when placing a bet. The referee will generally only deduct points if a foul is intentional. In the case that fouls are unintentional, referees tend to issue a warning. However, if the boxer continues to foul in this unintentional way, a referee can deduct points for poor conduct in this manner too.
When scoring, the judges are looking for a few different factors. These factors are hard and clean punches, defense skills, ring control, and effective aggression. Points are scored for offense above the belt with the knuckle part of the glove or for defensive tactics, such as guarding, ducking, or slipping away from an attack by the opponent. When betting on boxing, especially live, these should be the qualities you are looking for in a victorious fighter. If you see a fighter displaying these aptitudes, he is far more likely to win according to the judges; as long as he doesn’t get knocked out.
3. How Do Scores Determine the Final Outcome in Boxing?
As noted above, the winner of a boxing match can be determined quickly if one player gets knocked out or an opponent gives up. If Boxer A knocks Boxer B out, Boxer A automatically wins the boxing match, no matter the scores of the previous rounds. If Boxer A gives up, Boxer B automatically wins, no matter how the judges have scored prior rounds.
However, if both boxers make it all the way through twelve rounds of boxing, the final outcome is determined by the three judges. Unfortunately, those watching never see the scores for the rounds before the final decision is made.
There are three judges in boxing to make sure that there is never a scenario where there is a stalemate on who is the winner; there is always a deciding vote of at least two to one judges. There are six possible outcomes of a boxing match when the result is determined by the judges:
- Unanimous Decision Win
A unanimous decision is when all three judges agree that a particular boxer has won the entire match based on the points they have scored each boxer throughout the rounds.
- Majority Decision Win
A majority decision is reached when two of three judges think that Boxer A has won, whereas the third judge thinks the match was a draw based on the scores they gave throughout the rounds. In this scenario Boxer A wins the match by “Majority Decision”.
- Split Decision Win
This result occurs when two of the three judges think that Boxer A has won, while the third judge thinks that Boxer B won. In this case, Boxer A wins by “Split Decision”.
- Unanimous Decision Draw
This is when all judges believe that the fight is a draw based upon the scores they have given each fighter throughout the boxing match.
- Majority Decision Draw
This occurs when two judges score the match a draw while the other judge scores one of the fighters as the winner.
- Split Decision Draw
This is quite a controversial result and this occurs when one judge votes Boxer A to win, one judge votes Boxer B to win, and the third judge votes a draw. This is what happened with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder back in 2018.
4. How to Read Boxing Odds on Parimatch
When betting on boxing on the Parimatch online betting platform, you are placing a wager on which fighter is going to be victorious against his opponent. While betting on other types of sports has a whole wealth of complicated betting types, boxing bets simply determine which of the two opponents will win.
In this light, the odds that are shown on Parimatch are for one boxer to win the entire match over the other. As noted previously, a win can come about through a knockout, by forfeit, or based on the judges’ scores after twelve rounds of boxing.
Let us take this fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev: 
The odds on Anthony Joshua winning are 1.06 compared to odds of 6.40 for Kubrat Pulev. This shows that Anthony Joshua is far more likely to win.
To begin, it is important to know who is who when you are placing boxing bets. The fighter on the left is represented by a 1 and the fighter on the right is represented by a 2. While in other sports, like football, 1 represents the home team and 2 represents the away team, this is not the case in boxing, as boxers don’t tend to have “home” rings. In fact, fights can take place anywhere and tend to bear no relevance to where either fighter is from.
In this sense, when placing a bet on the Parimatch betting platform, the 1 stands for the left boxer (the one named first) and the 2 for the right boxer (the one named second).
The decimal numbers related to each boxer show the bettor the odds. The odds give you a good idea of how likely a fighter is to win. The lower the number, the more likely the boxer is to win. The higher the number, the less likely they are to win. In this sense, the favourite boxer has lower betting odds. You will make less money from a favourite boxer but you have far more chance of winning the bet.
On Parimatch, we use decimal odds because they are much easier to work out than their counterparts, fractional odds and American odds (read more about them in our odds guide). Decimal odds, like all odds, relate to the chances that the boxer will win the match. This is known as “Implied Probability” and demonstrates how likely the bookmaker thinks it is that a boxer will win a match based on a whole bunch of statistics and previous match history.
For example, if a boxer has beaten lots of famous and difficult-to-beat boxers, they will have lower odds. If a boxer has a long streak unbeaten, they will have lower odds. If a boxer is new to the scene and hasn’t had a chance to prove themselves yet, they will have higher odds.
Let’s take this fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev. The odds that Anthony Joshua will win are 1.06 compared to 6.40 for Kubrat Pulev. This immediately shows the audience that Anthony Joshua has a far higher implied probability of winning. If you wanted to work out this implied probability mathematically, you can do this by using the odds. You simply divide 1 by the display decimal odds and multiply the answer by 100. This will give you the percentage chance of the boxer winning the match.
In this case, Anthony Joshua’s implied probability is:
(1 / 1.06) * 100 = 94.34%
Kubrat Pulev’s implied probability is:
(1 / 6.40) * 100 = 15.62%
It is important to understand that the bookmaker always adds on an extra percentage over 100% as this is how bookmakers make money. Despite this, it is patently obvious that Anthony Joshua is far more likely to win the match.
The next thing to work out is the amount of money that can be made from betting on either opponent. While the odds are low for an opponent like Anthony Joshua, there is still a little bit of money to be made. However, as Anthony Joshua is such a clear favourite, winners are not likely to make much money as those odds are super low. On the flip side, if you were to bet on Kubrat Pulev, there isn’t much chance you’ll make any money at all as he is most likely to lose.
Let’s take another example of the upcoming boxing match between David Avanesyan and Joshua Kelly: 
As can be seen from the odds, David Avanesyan is more likely to win, but only by a fraction. Joshua Kelly has odds of 1.94 that he will win, giving him a 51.55% chance of winning. On the other side of the ring, David Avanesyan has odds of 1.71, giving him a 58.48% chance of winning. With odds as close as this, there is a good chance that the results might swing, either due to a forfeit or a knockout, so betting on either party is valid.
In this case, betting on David Avanesyan would give you odds of 1.71. In order to work out your potential winnings using decimal odds on Parimatch, you need to multiply your stake by the odds and then deduct the original stake.
For example, if you were to bet that David Avanesyan were to win, you would be betting on odds of 1.71. If you were to bet 10,000 TZS on David Avanesyan, you would multiply 1.71 by 10,000, giving you 17,100 TZS. If you minus your original stake from this, your profitable winnings would be 7,100 TZS.
If you were to bet that Joshua Kelly would win the match, you would be betting on odds of 1.94. Say that you also bet 10,000 TZS. If Joshua Kelly were to win, you would make a profit of 9,400 TZS, once you had deducted your 10,000 TZS stake from the payout.
In short, Parimatch uses decimal odds because they are the easiest to read and calculate your winnings from. Remember, to work out your implied probability, divide 1 by the odds and multiply it by 100. To work out your winnings, multiply your stake by the odds and deduct your original stake.
5. The Difference Between Pre-Match and Live Betting Odds in Boxing
The difference between pre-match betting and live betting rests on when you place your bet. Pre-match bets are placed before the beginning of a boxing match. Live betting occurs during the boxing match.
When it comes to the odds, there is a major difference between the two types of betting. Pre-match betting odds stay the same throughout the entire match, no matter what happens. Live betting odds will change depending on the action that goes on throughout the boxing match.
Take the above boxing match between David Avanesyan and Joshua Kelly. The odds displayed in the example are pre-match boxing odds. As you can see, they are pretty close and the match result is anyone’s guess. Pre-match bets of this kind are placed depending on the history of the players and their reputations up until this point.
However, once the match starts, everything may change. Joshua Kelly may have been working out much harder than anyone thought and may bring the aggression to the match the bookmakers couldn’t have predicted. This may change the dynamic of the match, which would be represented in the live odds. Where pre-match bettors may have placed bets on Joshua Kelly to win with odds of 1.71, Kelly’s behavior in the match may make him the favourite as the match goes on. In this case, the odds will lower. Anyone who placed a pre-match bet would still get paid out on their original odds, while any live bettors would receive the live odds, which would be lower.
For example, imagine that Joshua Kelly gets a good solid punch in during the third round. This sends David Avanesyan off-balance, seriously damaging his performance as he heads into the fourth round. If this was to occur, Joshua Kelly’s implied probability of winning may go from around 51% to 75%, making his live decimal odds 1.33.
If you had bet 10,000 TZS on a pre-match bet on the 1.94 odds, you would make a profit of 9,400 TZS. However, if you waited and noticed that Joshua Kelly was winning by the fourth round, and the odds have dropped to 1.33, you would only make a 3,300 TZS profit on a 10,000 TZS bet.
In short, live odds can change, whereas pre-match betting odds are static. If you bet on a match before it starts, the odds never change. However, if you bet on a match live, you are betting on change odds that fluctuate depending on the action that occurs during the boxing match.
6. What to Pay Attention to When Betting Live on Boxing
It is true that a whole boxing match can finish with one punch. A knockout can lead to the end of an opponent in boxing, as can particularly aggressive fighting, leaving one opponent begging to forfeit.
In the case that an opponent gets knocked out or forfeits, the entire boxing match finishes. However, if this doesn’t happen, fighters will go twelve rounds head to head and the outcome will be determined by the judges’ scores. In this case, it is certainly worth watching matches closely to determine the scores that are likely being given by the judges.
So what exactly is it that the judges look for when they are scoring a boxing match?
Points are awarded for both offense and defense. When it comes to offense, the judges are looking to see which boxer is controlling the action of each round. This is called “Ring Generalship” and refers to the concept of a fighter displaying overall control over his opponent in the ring, enforcing his own style and will. This is usually seen by one fighter being far more aggressive, forcing the other fighter to continually defend himself without getting any punches in.
The judges are also looking for effective aggression. In general, it is a good idea to be an aggressive fighter during a boxing match. While boxers don’t want to tire themselves out, they do want to gain control over their opponent. That said, there is no point in being aggressive if this aggressive action doesn’t pay off. This means judges are looking for fighters that are landing shots on their opponents and are avoiding punches that are thrown at them. A boxer that punches often but doesn’t land anything will only tire themselves out.
Moreover, in order to score points in boxing, boxers need to land clean punches that carry some weight behind them. While it can often appear that a boxer is landing a lot of punches on his opponent, if you look closely, you may see that many of these punches are being blocked by the opponent and aren’t landing flush. The idea is that a boxer really wants to make strong, flush contact with the opponent. This is how boxers are more likely to knock out their opponent, but it will also lead to higher scoring rounds.
In terms of defense, boxers need to make sure that they aren’t receiving blows back. While a boxer may be landing a couple of strong punches, getting knock backs can lead to them being knocked out themselves. In this respect, it is extremely important for them to keep their guard up and to display effective defense mechanisms. For judges, they like to see good parrying and blocking of punches from the opponent, along with boxers slipping out from attacks.
7. Top Tips for Boxing Betting
Placing a bet on boxing is a completely different way of betting than most other sports. In general, sports betting refers to a team that you have a passion for. Alternatively, you may be looking for teams that have rivalries against each other or teams that play well away compared to at home. These strategies are not really compliant with boxing as boxing works in a world of its own. Want to know some top boxing strategies for placing a solid boxing bet? Here is some advice from our expert boxing betting team here at Parimatch:
- Bet with sense not soul
While football betting often leads you to bet on the team you care about the most, boxing betting works differently. If you want to place a sensible bet that will win you money, you need to look at the stronger fighter, not the fighter who comes from your hometown. While you may feel spirited to vote for a fighter that comes from your country or represents the town you grew up in, you should be betting on the boxer that is most likely to win. You can usually tell this from the odds. A real underdog rarely manages to rock a boxing match that much.
- Know the training
Like all sports, you can get an idea of how well a team does by the training they have in place. With boxers, it is often quite a public affair as to how they have prepared for a match. It is always a good idea to delve into these details to get a more comprehensive understanding of how boxers have got in shape. Have they been using tactics to simply get fitter or have they been looking at their opponent’s specific style and working on improving those key areas?
- Consider a boxer’s experience
If a boxer hasn’t been in the ring for a while, they are less likely to win. While, yes, there is some truth to the old adage about the size of the dog in the fight, you will find that more experienced fighters are fitter. If a fighter has been out of the ring for a while or has little experience fighting professionally, they are often more likely to be distracted by the circus of the whole affair. In this sense, you may find that the more practiced fighter will do better when under the spotlight. That said, pay attention to fighters who fought recently, as their injuries from the last fight may impact how they perform this time around.
For example, if we look at the professional boxing experience of Aleksander Usyk, we can consider him as a strong favorite:
| 21 fights | 21 wins | 0 losses |
|---|---|---|
| By knockout | 14 | 0 |
| By decision | 7 | 0 |
- Don’t believe the hype
Boxing promoters are paid a lot of money to make a song and dance out of a boxer’s potential performance. How boxer fares will depend on his skill, agility, stamina, and strength. Just because a boxer has been in lots of interviews on the TV or makes a big deal about a potential rivalry, does not mean that they will win the match. Often the boxer that keeps their head down and their nose clean will perform much better.
- Look for poorly behaved celebrities
One of the biggest problems with young boxers is that they love the party life. The money and attention often breed fast cars, loose women, and overstimulation. If you notice that a boxer is spending a lot of time in the public spotlight, out at parties, or getting themselves in trouble, the likelihood is that they are not concentrating on their fighting career. These boxers are likely to be more hustle and hype than punch and bite. Due to this, it’s usually a good idea to steer clear from the boxers who aren’t taking it all seriously.
- Don’t underestimate age
Interestingly, some boxers are much older than people realize. While boxers can be good fighters well into their forties, their speed and agility definitely suffer. While a forty-year-old boxer may be able to hold their own against someone in their thirties, you will definitely see them struggle against someone in their twenties. This is because fighters in their twenties tend to have far better agility and speed and can defend themselves by ducking out far more quickly than older, slower boxers. The speed doesn’t just work well for attacking quickly, but it works wonders for protecting young boxers from strong blows.
- Benchmark against previous fights
Boxing matches are usually organized for one boxer to steal another’s title or ranking. In this sense, when you consider a boxer who has fought and beat a lot of people to work his or her way up the ranks, you will find they are more likely to come out tops in the next match. Look at the actual fighters they have been up against in comparison to their opponent. Equally, look at how swiftly they have moved up those ranks in comparison to the person they are fighting.
- Find the fighter’s weakness
There is an old saying in boxing that style makes the fighter. There are some fighters that tend to work well with whatever is thrown at them whereas there are other fighters who struggle against opponents with a style that doesn’t match theirs. For example, some boxers really struggle against southpaw opponents. These are opponents who stand with their right hand and right foot forward and tend to be left-handed fighters. Some fighters struggle to defend against southpaw, while some fighters find it hard to get past southpaw defense. If you know this and you know they are playing a southpaw opponent, you know they are unlikely to fare too well.
8. How to Make a Bet on Boxing on Parimatch
If you are looking to place a bet on boxing using the Parimatch website or online betting app, it is an extremely easy process. Simply, log in and find the boxing match you would like to place a bet on, and you are well on your way.
New to the Parimatch sports betting platform? Still having a little trouble finding your way around our app? Never fear! Follow our step by step guide below to show you how to place a boxing bet on Parimatch.
- Head to the Parimatch website or app and register or log in to your existing account.
- Be sure to deposit some money to be ready to place your boxing bets.
- Next, decide if you want to place pre-match or live boxing bets.
- To place a pre-match bet, head to the “Sport” section in the menu. You will see all the available sports listed for betting on.  Select “Boxing” from the sports listed.
- For live boxing bets, click the “Live” button in the menu.
- The next page will display a long list of boxing matches for you to bet on. You can find more suitable options by using filters you can find in this section.
- Find the boxing match that you would like to bet on and you will see the odds of each boxer winning listed underneath.
- You can either select the boxer you want to win from the boxes underneath, or you can select the title of the boxing match to go through to the game page.
- Once on the game page, you can select the boxer you want to win from here. By clicking the bet box in the game page or on the previous page, you will see the box go highlighted and a wager will appear in your betslip.
- If you are only placing a single bet, it’s time to head to the betslip to finalize your bet.
- When you get to the betslip, check the details of your bet are correct. Enter the stake you would like to wager in the respective box. Once you are sure everything is correct, press “Place Bet”.
- If you are placing multiple bets at once, you can choose parlay or system bets. Repeat steps 1-8 for all the boxing bets that you would like to place, along with any other sports bets you would like to place a wager on.
- Next, head to the betslip to finalize your bets.
- You will see “Parlay” and “System” in the top menu. Choose whether to place a parlay or system bet and click the relevant tab.
- For parlay bets, check all the details are correct on all the bets you would like to place in an accumulator wager. Next, add your stake into the box. The minimum stakes are 300 TZS. Once you are ready, click “Place Bet” to finalise your bet.
- For system bets, click the system tab. Next check that all your bets are correct and scroll down to choose the system you would like to use from the dropdown menu. Once you have picked your system, add your stake into the box. Next, click “Place Bet” to finalize everything and place your wager.
To Sum Up Betting on Boxing
For those looking to bet on global boxing, you may find that Africa has limited betting options for boxing. This is especially true if you visit your local bookies. For those who would like to wager against these international events, don’t worry: Parimatch has your back.
Parimatch has designed a state-of-the-art online sports betting platform that gives access to sports betting for all those looking to place wagers in Tanzania and across Africa. Our cutting edge online sports betting platform gives users the widest range of boxing events in all of Africa, making it super easy to log on and place a bet on all your favourite boxers across the world.
What’s more, at Parimatch, we are dedicated to making it as simple as possible to place boxing bets. This is why our team of technical experts has created this next generation sports betting app that puts the user first. Thanks to our intuitive platform and straightforward navigation, you can simply place bets, directly from your smart device. Gone are the days of long queues at the bookies — you can bet on boxing directly from your phone.
So, what are you waiting for? Sign up to the Parimatch platform today to start placing boxing bets without the hassle. Our friction-free platform enables parlay boxing bets for those who love a good accumulator, system bets for those who like to think in systems, and single bets for a quick wager on “The Big Fight”. Register with Parimatch today and never miss out on boxing betting again.