Boxing is a good metaphor for life. If you don’t prepare and put the work in, failure is likely. The same could be said for betting on boxing. The sport of sparring is like no other and gambling on a bout requires a little groundwork or you may as well throw in the towel.
New York has long been a boxing town. From Brooklyn legend Mike Tyson to the now sadly ended Golden Gloves NY edition, to the legendary gyms of Manhattan and the Bronx; boxing in the Empire State still thrills the senses.
Around one in five US sports fans list pro boxing as one of their favorites. Millions are wagered on showpiece fights. A sound pre-bout betting strategy when going toe to toe with the bookmakers can increase your chances of a knockout profit.
There are some fantastic offerings among New York’s legal sportsbooks for betting on boxing. Hundreds of boxing bouts are held every year from heavyweight to flyweight, men's to women's fights, and professional to amateur contests.
The boxing schedule means there’s always something to bet on, but to place a first wager you’ll need to sign up with a betting site. These are the best sportsbooks for betting on boxing in New York and why.
FanDuel is one of the biggest - if not the biggest - sportsbooks operating in New York. As you’d expect from one of sports betting’s behemoths, FanDuel offers a wealth of boxing markets. Odds are released ahead of time giving bettors the chance to get in on the action early and pricing is competitive.
Almost every weight class and federation can be found on FanDuel’s superb betting apps that deliver a host of options for tweaking wagers. FanDuel has added superstar of women’s boxing, Amanda Serrano, to its roster of brand ambassadors signaling an intent to lead the way in fight night entertainment.
Place bets while the punches are landing with DraftKings’ superior live boxing markets. With the streaming of many bouts shown on DK’s excellent betting platforms, few can rival the DFS giants for following boxing and your wagers as they play out.
There are a multitude of live betting options including fight lines, method of victory, and props on offer as odds change by the minute, DraftKings will enhance your enjoyment of any bout while being informed by their real-time stats and charts.
Caesars has a long and storied place in the history of boxing. The iconic Caesars Palace in LA has been the venue for bouts since the late 1960s. Though the indoor sports arena at the Palace is gone, the entertainment complex hosts boxing matches to this day.
Caesars Palace was the place where Muhammed Ali beat Joe Bugner in 1973 before the greatest boxer of all time was stopped by Larry Holmes seven years later. That legacy continues with Caesars' boxing betting zone. If you’re relishing an upcoming fight, check out the Emperor as odds for fights are posted particularly early with competitive pricing.
Another entertainment giant whose Vegas properties have welcomed some of the best boxers of all time, MGM’s betting arm is a delight for delivering variety in fight bet types. As well as all of the main markets such as bout lines and round betting, BetMGM posts lots of props and wager varieties not found elsewhere.
Reckon your predicted champ will knock out his or her opponent within 60 seconds or you can see it going the distance? BetMGM delivers odds on all manner of events during the bout to up the enjoyment levels.
PointsBet is one of the most innovative NY sportsbooks. The betting site that’s the home of ‘Points Betting’ - a unique take on points spreads - recently introduced partial cashouts for New York customers. That means you can settle a live bet early, take some of your winnings and leave a portion of the original stake to run. That can be a great option for betting on boxing. With up to 12 rounds in a professional bout, boxing matches wax and wane with one fighter often on top for a period followed by the other enjoying a period in the ascendancy.
For boxing fans who follow a fight carefully, knowing when to apply a partial cash out is a betting skill all of its own. If you wait for your chosen fighter to go down it’ll be too late.
The boxing area at WynnBet tends to concentrate on win lines and only features the biggest bouts. It is parlays that will attract fight fans to WynnBet though. With one of the best parlay builders around, combining multiple boxing matches on the same card or from entirely different fights is simple and intuitive.
WynnBet’s app and desktop layouts make viewing several events simultaneously simple, showing as it does more markets on the screen than most of the other New York sportsbooks.
BetRivers rivals FanDuel, DraftKings, and BetMGM for the array of props that it offers for boxing matches and trumps the lot on plenty of occasions. You’ll typically find a dozen or more contest and fighter props markets available at BetRivers.
Just click on the ‘More Bets’ link from your chosen fight to see what’s on offer. Everything is neat and tidy on the BetRivers betting app for browsing the markets on what will happen during a fight.
BallyBet has attractive betting platforms that follow the trends in laying out its interface in line with most of its rivals. Where you will find BallyBet standing out is its social offering. If your friendship group includes a bunch of boxing fans, you can cheer (or commiserate) together with Bally’s option of following your buddy’s boxing bets.
Maybe you’ve pooled together to go big on fight night. If so, if one of you places the wager then the rest can access it and monitor its progress. Who makes the call on whether to cash out or continue makes for a fresh dynamic when watching boxing.
Resorts World’s Catskills complex houses the nearest sports and betting lounge to Manhattan. Hosting live boxing bouts with its “Catskills Clash” series and beaming fights from around the world on the big screen, Resorts World delivers the complete package.
You can bet at the counter or from your mobile at the Resorts World Bet venue that seats 100 in sumptuous surroundings. Resorts World Bet offers a streamlined online betting experience - perfect for quick wagering as the action unfolds.
There are plenty of options for choosing the best boxing sportsbooks in New York. Pick one that suits the number and type of wagers you’ll be placing.
When you’re browsing the options, you’ll notice that some offer better value in the odds they offer while others have a wider variety of markets. Take the time to apply the following criteria when choosing a betting app to have in your corner.
It’s of paramount importance to select a betting app that operates legally in the State of New York. That way you’ll be assured your financial transactions are secure and bets will be handled fairly.
Bettors who have gone before have done much of the work for you. Read a selection of reviews to understand what you’ll be getting from a potential betting app; it’s worth checking out user reviews in the app store of your choice, and you can also find detailed reviews of all legal NY sportsbooks here at NYSafeBets.
Odds vary between sportsbooks so be sure to compare markets at different sportsbooks. Even modestly upped pricing levels can make a difference to your bankroll over time or if you’re planning to bet big.
If you have a preferred payment option, then you should check that a sportsbook you’re interested in using is able to take deposits and pay out your winnings using that method. For example, if you prefer to use PayPal for online transactions then look for books that offer PayPal deposits and withdrawals.
All of the best NY betting sites will cover the major bouts but not all delve into undercards, amateur and women’s boxing to the same extent. If any of those are your thing, take a look at the variety of events offered by a selection of sportsbooks.
You’ll likely find that some betting apps are not as customer friendly as others. Pick a layout that appeals to you and avoid clunky and confusing apps that can slow you down when placing bets.
The bonuses offered by New York’s legal sportsbooks vary considerably in value and terms and conditions. Be aware of minimum deposits to trigger a promo plus rollover requirements that might see you wagering more than you intended.
As boxing’s showcase fights only come around from time to time, sportsbooks will often run betting promotions in the build-up so be sure to keep an eye on NYSafeBets for all the latest details. In the meantime, all of the following new customer bonuses can be used to bet on boxing:
Sportsbook | Betting Promo |
Caesars | Get 100% of your stake back as a free bet up to $1,250 if your first wager of $10 or more loses. |
FanDuel | Bet $5, get $200 in Bonus Bets |
DraftKings | Bonus worth up to 20% of your first deposit to a maximum of $1,000. |
BetRivers | Up to $100 in free bets matched to the value of your first wager if it loses. |
BetRivers | Up to $100 in free bets matched to the value of your first wager if it loses. |
Resorts World Bet | Earn up to a $500 free bet. The bonus received will be equivalent to your initial bet upon opening an account. |
Boxing is one of the most lucrative sports in the world with huge prize purses on offer for top fighters. With a bit of luck and judgment on the best bets to place, you might just experience the thrill of victory and a profit.
Boxing wager types are largely similar to most other sporting events with the occasional exception. Choose your bet types wisely to identify markets that deliver value.
Also known as the fightline, moneyline odds on boxing will be presented as either a “two-way” or “three-way”.
The first is simply a straight-up bet on who will win while the three-way adds in the possibility of a tie. In many fights, you’ll find miserly odds on the moneyline when a top fighter is up against a journeyman/woman.
Perhaps the most famous upset in boxing history was when James “Buster” Douglas defeated Mike Tyson in 1990. Tyson was priced at a massive -4,500 on the fightline. Those who took Douglas did very well out of it with a bet of $100 returning a profit of $4,500.
Betting on the over/under total rounds in a bout means placing a wager on whether it will go past a set number of two (women) or three-minute segments.
For example, when Tyson Fury faced Derek Chisora the over/under was set at 6.5 with odds of -135 for the number of rounds to exceed that and +115 for it to be below. Fury stopped his opponent in 10 rounds meaning the over bet was the successful one. Fury fans would have had to wager $135 to gain $100 profit.
Alternative round betting in boxing offers bettors the chance to wager on a specific round or a block that they think the fight will end in.
Taking Fury vs Chisora again, the alternative round markets looked like this when choosing the range in which the bout would be decided:
Tyson Fury Rounds 1-3: +333
Tyson Fury Rounds 4-6: +240
Tyson Fury Rounds 7-9: +360
Tyson Fury Rounds 10-12: +650
Derek Chisora Rounds 1-3: +4,000
Derek Chisora Rounds 4-6: +4,000
Derek Chisora Rounds 7-9: +4,000
A method of victory bet involves picking the boxer who will be victorious plus the way that they’ll achieve it. You can choose a knockout (KO), a technical knockout (TKO), and points decisions - unanimous (UD), split (SD), or majority (MD).
Others you might see at the sportsbooks include that a fighter was disqualified or retired. Here’s another example from the Fury-Chisora match:
Fury to win on points: +260
Fury to win by KO or TKO: -278
Chisora to win on points: +2,500
Chisora to win by KO or TKO: +1,400
For a fight to go the distance means it will last the full number of scheduled rounds. For Tyson up against Chisora to complete 12 rounds, the odds were +230 for the “yes” and -333 for the “no”.
Ultimately, the fight did not go the distance so the “no” wagers did indeed hit, returning $3 profit on every $10 staked.
Parlay betting combines two or more outcomes on the same ticket. If just one of the legs loses then the entire wager is unsuccessful. You can choose to build a parlay comprising several fights.
For example, the celebrity fight night held in London in August 2022 had KSI take on Swarmz and Luis Alcaraz Pineda on the same card. To back KSI to win both would have combined odds of -1,000 and -400. Neither would make you rich without a significant investment but pairing them into a parlay would have upped the odds to -267.
Boxing is an exhilarating sport to watch with a ton of twists and turns. The course of a bout can change within seconds and a fight can be won or lost with a single blow. Prop bets are wagers on occurrences or non-occurrences during a contest.
Some of the more “exotic” props bets you might find at the best NY sportsbooks for boxing include how often a fighter will land a certain type of punch and whether points will be deducted. For the major marquee bouts there will often be “fun” props bets such as behavior during the weigh-in and what robes each boxer will enter the ring wearing.
While the core principles of betting on boxing are largely the same as for other sports, bouts are a unique contest. Understanding and analyzing the different weight classes, ranking systems, and data points is a big task.
Assessing a fighter’s accomplishments, style, talents, and abilities is the key to picking a winner. Remember to factor in the immeasurables too such as morale, will to win, and a fighter’s ability to transcend the hype and trash talk that surrounds the biggest bouts. Then apply the following principles.
Keep up to date with the latest boxing news to help guide your betting decisions.
A starting point when considering an approach to betting on boxing is to do some research. Different fighters have different styles and tendencies. Each boxer has strengths and weaknesses. When a boxer’s strongest techniques overpower an opponent’s flaws they’ll often be able to exploit them to earn a victory.
Some boxers excel at defense and are more likely to feature in bouts that both last the distance and be decided on points (e.g. Floyd Mayweather Jr.). Others are heavy hitters and often win by a KO (e.g. Deontay Wilder).
There are lots of boxing resources that break down the attacking and defensive credentials of individuals and preview how a bout is likely to take shape. Also, look out for key statistics that will inform your boxing betting picks. Punches landed, power punches per round, and jabs per round are important metrics that tell of each fighter’s prowess and allow for a comparison between two opponents.
While momentum and a boxer’s recent form ahead of their next bout play a part in who will win, a fighter’s record doesn’t tell the whole story. Hype plays a massive part in public perception as a showpiece fight nears. A cool head is required to pick a winner, stripping back any emotion attached to a boxing match.
Odds for boxing bouts are to some degree influenced by the prevailing mood among fans and bettors. As an example, back in 2011, Manny Pacquiao fought Juan Manuel Márquez for the third time. Pacquiao was a popular figure and despite the previous two bouts between the pair being very close (a tie followed by a split decision), the Filipino was already regarded as a great and his odds of a win were -715 to Márquez’ +1,100. Pacquiao did win the fight, but only with the help of a controversial judging decision. A year later at even lower odds, he was knocked out by Márquez.
On a similar theme, some boxers are such big favorites that it makes little sense to back them on the moneyline. In the 2018 fight between Anthony Joshua and Alexander Povetkin, bookmakers gave Joshua a -1,000 chance to win, while Povetkin stood at +650.
The amount of money ($1,000 to make $100) required to gain anything made this bet a non-starter for most. The prime wager in this instance would have been to pick Joshua to win in rounds 6 to 9 at +320 as he ended the bout with a technical knockout in the seventh.
A good base for betting on boxing is to understand that odds correlate to implied probability. Being able to assess the implied probability of a wager winning is an important way of improving your chances of making a profit in the long run.
Taking an example from Denotay Wilder against Tyson Fury in October 2021, we can work this out as follows:
Deontay Wilder at odds of +250 = implied probability (250 odds / 100) + 1 = 3.5 then (1 / 3.5) = 28.57%.
Tyson Fury at odds of -350 = implied probability (1 - (100 / 350 odds) = 0.7143 then 0.7143*100 = 71.43%.
Now we know at a glance the bookmaker’s view on the likelihood of a Fury or Wilder win in percentage terms as reflected in their odds and related implied probability.
In theory, if you believe that Wilder had a better chance than 28.57%, you might conclude that there’s value to be had in backing him. You can apply implied probability calculations to every wager you place.
Reading boxing betting lines and odds is simpler than it might first appear. Most NY sportsbooks display their prices in the American odds format.
Once you understand the following four principles, you’ll be well on your way to understanding odds and being able to use them to inform your picks:
A minus sign ahead of the number denotes the favorite (or the outcome considered more likely.
A positive sign ahead of the number indicates the underdog (or the outcome rated as more probable.
With the favorite and a minus figure, the odds tell you how much you need to bet to win $100.
On the underdog and a plus figure, the odds tell you how much you would win should you stake $100.
So, in a moneyline example, Floyd Mayweather was the favorite at -700 to beat underdog Mikuru Asakura at odds of 500 in the fall of 2022. For a bet on Mayweather, you have to bet $700 for every $100 you want to win. A wager on Alvarez means you would potentially get $500 for every $100 you bet.
That exhibition bout only consisted of a maximum of three rounds.
Like many sports, line movement is a frequent occurrence in boxing betting markets. As soon as a fight is announced and added to the schedule, sportsbooks begin identifying a favorite and an underdog and setting their opening odds on both. Some bookmakers even offer bets on rumored bouts, underlining just how sharp the books are when it comes to boxing.
Moneyline odds appear months in advance of planned fights. Some of the biggest names in boxing take to the ring infrequently which only enhances the anticipation and early release of betting markets.
Once money begins being placed on the winner of a fight betting lines will start to move. As the date of a bout draws closer, oddsmakers will typically adjust their pricing every time some significant news on the form and fitness of fighters reaches them. Sportsbooks will always attempt to balance the money placed on outcome A and outcome B. If the betting public is placing a large amount on one fighter, the bookies will adjust their lines to make wagering on the other more appealing.
As the majority of money is wagered close to the big fight, lines move more frequently in the days leading up to it. The most popular boxers, with the biggest followings, always attract more bets, particularly late on. If you’re planning to bet on a favorite star name it can be wise to get in early before the mega money makes their odds unappealing.
DraftKings Sportsbook at Del Lago Casino Resort
1133 New York 414, Waterloo, NY 13165
+1 315-946-1777
Sportsbook 360 at Resorts World Catskills
888 Resorts World Drive, Monticello, NY 12701
+1 833-586-9358
Rivers Sportsbook at Rivers Casino & Resort
1 Rush St, Schenectady, NY 12305
+1 518-579-8800
FanDuel Sportsbook at Tioga Downs Casino
2384 W River Rd, Nichols, NY 13812, United States
+1 607-414-1129
Lounge With Caesars at Point Place Casino
450 452, NY-31, Bridgeport, NY 13030
+1 315-366-9610
Lounge With Caesars at Turning Stone Resort & Casino
5218 Patrick Rd, Verona, NY 13478
+1 800-771-7711
Lounge With Caesars at Yellow Brick Road Casino
800 W Genesee St, Chittenango, NY 13037
+1 315-366-9400
Sticks Sports Book at Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Resort
873 NY-37, Hogansburg, NY 13655
+1 518-358-2222
Sports Lounge at Seneca Allegany Casino
777 Seneca Allegany Blvd, Salamanca, NY 14779
+1 888-913-3377
Sports Lounge at Seneca Buffalo Creek Casino
1 Fulton St, Buffalo, NY 14204
+1 877-873-6322
Sports Lounge at Seneca Niagara Casino
310 4th St, Niagara Falls, NY 14303
+1 877-873-6322
Legends
6 W 33rd St, New York City
+1 212-967-7792
Don’t be fooled by its popularity with the football crowd, all of the big fights are shown at Legends. A short hop from the Empire State Building, Legends makes a fuss when fight nights roll around. They’ve even renamed themselves the Katie Taylor Arms in homage to the popular Irish boxer when she’s been in action.
Legends is renowned for its friendly, welcoming atmosphere and its pub grub, beers, wines, and cocktails.
Jimmy's Corner
140 W 44th St, New York City
+1 212-221-9510
Just a two-minute walk from Times Square, Jimmy’s Corner is named after legendary cutman and trainer Jimmy Glenn who ran the bar for nearly 50 years. Glenn sadly passed in 2020 but his old school drinking venue is still going strong.
The walls are adorned with memorabilia from Jimmy’s long association with boxing. When a big fight is shown, it’s not uncommon to find promoters and trainers among the assembled crowd.
The Three Monkeys
236 W 54th St, New York City
+1 212-586-2080
With lots of flat screens that’ll have the boxing on when a big fight is underway, The Three Monkeys is known for its wide selection of craft beers and sliders. Located in NYC’s Theater District, this bi-level bar has an upper terrace for taking in some air between rounds.
The Three Monkeys is open from 11 am to 4 am so even if there’s a PPV fight taking place elsewhere in the world, in a completely different timezone, you’ll be able to watch it.
Yes, betting on boxing is legal in New York. The New York State Gaming Commission regulates sports betting and has approved a range of boxing betting options.
Betting on boxing matches online is a simple process that requires the creation of an account with an online betting provider. Choose from one of the 9 legal NY sportsbooks reviewed above. After signing up, customers can then select the boxing match they wish to bet on and the type of bet they want to place. Once the bet has been placed, customers will then be able to track the results of their bet and receive any payouts due to them.
Round betting in boxing is a type of wagering where the bettor predicts the round in which a fight will end. The bettor selects the round in which the fight will end, and if the fight ends in that round, the bettor wins.
Betting odds in boxing work in the same way as they do in any other sport. The odds are a reflection of the probability of a fighter winning. When betting on a fight, you will be offered a set of odds that represent the likelihood of each participant winning. The higher the odds on a fighter, the lower the chance of them winning. Conversely, the lower the odds on a fighter, the higher the chance of them winning. Bettors can then use these odds to decide which fighter to place a wager on.
No, it is illegal for a boxer to bet on himself.
A 3 way moneyline in boxing is a type of betting that allows a bettor to wager on who they think will win the fight, as well as who they think will win by decision or knockout.
+500 in boxing odds means that a bettor would win $500 if they wager $100 on the fighter.
