What is a Moneyline bet in boxing? How to read odds?

The most popular bet in boxing is the moneyline bet.

Moneyline odds are made based on the linesmakers opinion of a fighter’s likelihood of winning or losing a given match. Similar to baseball betting, the moneyline bet runs on a point system. For instance, if a boxing match is being listed as an even money bet where both fighters have a 50/50 chance of winning, the odds on Fighter A will be -110 moneyline and Fighter B will be -110 moneyline. Both fighters are -110 because the sportsbook takes an automatic 10% vigorish or “juice.”

For instance, if Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao were to have a rematch it would most likely be listed as an even money fight with Floyd Mayweather -110 and Manny Pacquiao -110 moneyline. This means that a $110 bet on either fighter pays out $100 profit on your $100 wager.

Most fights have heavy moneyline favorites where you will see the favorite listed at something like -800. This means that you would have to wager $800 to profit $100. The reason for this is that the -800 fighters are given an 88.9% chance of winning based on probability. The way to figure out a fighter’s odds of probability for winning a match has to do simple math. For instance, when Floyd Mayweather fought Robert Guerrero he was a – 800 favorite.

To figure out Mayweather’s odds of winning the match you must add 100 to 800 and divide. For example, a -800 moneyline means that you would divide 800 into 900, which equals 88.9%.

It is common to see a favorite with a price tag of -1000 with the underdog at +700. What is the reason for the lopsided numbers? The underdog is the underdog for a reason, but upsets happen frequently in boxing because one punch can end a fight.

If you have a fighter at +700 on the moneyline this means that a $100 wager would pay out a $700 profit. For instance, when Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman he was a +700 moneyline underdog.

The price of the underdog varies based on two factors: punching power and resiliency. A talented fighter that can’t take a punch like Amir Khan could be listed as a -1000 favorite, but the underdog might only be listed at +400. The reason for this is that even though Khan is expected to win, his vulnerability makes an upset more likely to happen, therefore, a lower price tag on the underdog is given. Fighters known as heavy-handed fighters will also be given lower moneylines as underdogs, even against resilient opponents, due to their ability to end the fight with one punch.