Boxing Betting Tips: Best bets for upcoming fights

While a bunch of British fighters continue to talk about possible big-money domestic scraps taking place this year, James DeGale and Chris Eubank Jr ensured we will get at least one by putting pen-to-paper on a contract for February 23 at the O2 Arena in London.

This is a massive fight for Eubank Jr, who flopped badly the last time he stepped up to face an elite level fighter, dropping a decision victory to George Groves after ‘Saint’ outclassed him. If the 29-year-old has his hand raised he is one step closer to fighting the absolute best in the division for one of the four recognised world titles, but if he loses his dreams of holding one of the more coveted title belts could be dashed for good. 

“I will be 30 this year but I definitely don’t feel like it, I feel like I’m 22,” he said. “I feel the same as when I turned pro. I still have that energy, the hunger, the desire, I live the life, I’m responsible with the way I live so I believe my career is going to go on until I’m mid-30s minimum.

“I’m in the prime of my career right now. I have the success, the financial stability, but in terms of achievements, I haven’t achieved everything I want to achieve. There’s still a lot more that I set out to do. This fight here puts me back in a position to be able to challenge for those world titles, those big fights. There’s a long road ahead.”

While Eubank Jr is looking to set himself up for ‘bigger and better things’, DeGale has openly admitted he is pondering if this will be his last stand.

“I'm going to get this good win and after this I'll maybe knock it on the head – I don't know,” DeGale admitted. “I could go on to have another three or four fights; I'm not too sure. I'm in a good position where I'm happy and content in what I've done with my career. I've left my mark. I'm sitting nice. I've always said I'm taking every fight as it comes.

“The hunger and desire hasn't been stronger. I've been training for this fight for a long, long time. Mentally I'm ready; physically I'm ready and I'm healthy. There's a lot of questions hanging over this fight as well, but the main one is how much have I got left? Am I declining, am I shot? We'll see.”

It is always a dangerous game for a fighter to be discussing retirement ahead of a fight. Despite his claims that the “desire hasn’t been stronger”, is DeGale’s head really in this fight and has the fire inside him been put out by Groves’ decision to retire? ‘Chunky’ had been desperate to land a rematch with ‘Saint’ so he would have an opportunity to avenge the slender points decision defeat he suffered when the two men met back in 2011, and a victory here would have perhaps helped him get that chance. That incentive is now gone – so will that affect DeGale?

February 23 will provide the answer to that question and I believe the answer will be that the former world champion was ready and motivated for Eubank Jr.

Eubank Jr will want to turn this into a war in the hope that he can catch DeGale with something big and stop him in his tracks, and that is a wise move because if this comes down to boxing technique then there will be only one winner – DeGale. He is the better boxer, and as we saw in Eubank Jr’s decision defeat to Groves a year ago that he is perhaps nowhere near the level required to compete with the very best in the super-middleweight division.

DeGale’s recent record may be patchy and some gruelling battles may be catching up with him, but he does fit in that bracket. And of course, he has never been stopped in his career so if Eubank Jr cannot put him away, then this fight is DeGale’s for the taking, probably by decision.

Tyson Fury’s return to boxing was one of the sport’s biggest stories in 2018, but the former world heavyweight champion’s comeback year did not end in glory as a couple of judges somehow decided he had not done enough to beat Deontay Wilder despite him dominating almost all of the bout. Since then the ‘Bronze Bomber’ has been trying to save face, claiming he was not at his best that night, but the simple fact is he was out-boxed and outclassed for almost 36 full minutes by a man who had not had a proper competitive fight in over three years. Fury looked great on the night and if he gets the rematch he deserves in 2019, I fully expect him to inflict a first professional defeat on Wilder and become world heavyweight champion for the second time in his career. The ‘Bronze Bomber’ may have devastating punching power, but that does not make up for a total lack of technique that Fury can expose over 12 rounds. And when he does that for the second time, this next set of judges will have no choice but to award him the WBC belt. 

Not only does Bettingpro.com offer advice on what bets you should place on boxing, we also offer advice on which bookmakers you should use. Our comprehensive reviews give you a rundown of what you can expect from the bookies when you become a customer of theirs.

Is there an incentive to sign up at the website - ie. free bets, risk-free bets etc? Are their odds competitive? Do they offer much variety in the way of markets? What special promotions can I use to insure my bet or boost my pay-out if it is a winner? What standard of customer service can I expect?

All of those questions, and more, are answered in our reviews that you can access HERE.

But what offers are available to you right now? Below is Bettingpro.com's favourite bookmaker welcome offers at this time...

This market is simple – you pick the winner of the market and how they will win the fight. By adding the method of victory on to simply backing a fighter, you give the price a nice shot in the arm. Joshua is as short as 1/12 to win this fight, but having stopped all of his previous 20 opponents you may like his chances of stopping Parker too. Now, odds of 1/3 are not particularly appealing, but you can see from this example that betting on a fighter’s method of victory can give his odds a healthy boost. And when it comes to bouts that are much closer to call, this market offers a great way to make a tidy profit. 

The Total Rounds market gives punters the chance to bet on how many rounds the fight will or will not last. So, for example, if you believe Joshua will win in the last three rounds you could back Over 8.5 Total Rounds at 11/8, and this bet would still be a winner even if Parker won the fight as long as the bout went at least eight-and-a-half rounds. Alternatively, you may like Joshua’s chances of taking out Parker inside six rounds and Under 6.5 Total Rounds can be backed at Even money. And just like the Overs, this bet would be a winner if Parker won the fight, as long as he stopped Joshua in less than six-and-a-half rounds. This market covers every round from 1.5 Total Rounds to 10.5 Total Rounds so there are plenty of options.

One of the most popular ways to bet on combat sports is to bet on which round the fight will finish, and this market covers every single round in the fight. The odds can be quite lucrative too because you are pinpointing the ending of the bout down to just one round, so if you like Joshua for a 10th round stoppage you could get odds as big as 16/1, but if you believe Parker will get the nod from the judges after the full 12 rounds you could get a price as big as 33/1. If there is a market where you can make a big profit, it is this one.

But perhaps betting on a single round in a 12-round fight is not that appealing to you? If it is not, we highly recommend this boxing betting odds market because it lumps together multiple rounds and you can still get good odds. Some bookmakers will group together three rounds at a time, while others will simply split the fight in half to offer Rounds 1-6 and Rounds 7-12. When it comes to choosing a bookmaker it is simply down to how accurate you want to be with your prediction. In his most recent outings Joshua has gone into the second half of the fight so Rounds 7-12 could be tempting at 9/5, but if you want to narrow it down to the last three rounds, 10-12, the price is a much bigger 6/1. There are many options and the bigger the grouping of rounds the shorter the odds will get, but even at the shortest price, you can still make a nice profit with a winning bet.