Boxing Betting Tips: Examining the Rounds Market

Kelsey McCarson

September 10th, 2018

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Boxing’s rounds market offers substantial payouts for boxing betting fans willing to take on higher amounts of risk than those on the outright win market or even method of victory market.

There are many different options offered by top boxing bookmakers on the rounds market, so it’s important to thoroughly read and understand what the bookmaker is offering before placing the wager.

What is the Rounds Market in Boxing Betting?

When betting the rounds market, the bettor is usually wagering on which fighter will win the fight in what round or rounds.

In these instances, the bettor is essentially selecting an option that is an extension of betting on a fighter to win by KO, TKO or DQ on the method of victory market except that the bettor is also selecting the specific round or groups of rounds the fight ends.

Rounds can be listed both as both single rounds (e.g. Mayweather in round 10 at +600) and groups of rounds (Mayweather in rounds 10-12 at +355) based on the bookmaker’s preference.

Betting On a Single Round

Betting the fighter to win in a specific round can offer huge payouts, but it’s very hard to pinpoint the exact round a fight will end.

Still, the payouts on the single round market are large enough to attract wagers from bettors, and picking the correct fighter to win in the correct round is much more lucrative than just about any other similar bet.

For example, when Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor fought in 2017, bettors who picked Mayweather to stop McGregor in round 10 returned on average +2200.

Round Group Wagering

Round groups offer big payouts with a little less risk than single round bets. When selecting a round group, the wager pays out if the winning fight selected ends the fight in any of the rounds selected as a group.

Round groups can be smaller (e.g. rounds 1-3) or larger (e.g. rounds 1-6) depending on the bookmaker’s preference.

The Over/Under Round Market

The over/under (O/U) isn’t about which fighter will win in what round or rounds, but how many total rounds the fight will encompass.

For example, the O/U 11.5 rounds odds offered by some bookmakers for Mayweather vs. McGregor was over at +177 and under at -220.

Bettors who selected the over were betting the fight would go beyond 11.5 rounds and those who picked the under were betting the fight would end before 11.5 rounds. Since Mayweather knocked McGregor out in round 10, those who bet on the under had to wager $220 to return $100 in winnings.

Half-rounds don’t technically exist in boxing, but bookmakers cut the rounds in half by the official time of the bout. There are three minutes in every round, so the half round ends at 1:31 of the given round.

Had Mayweather knocked McGregor out at 1:31 of round 11, those who bet the over would have been the winners. The same would have been true had the fight gone the distance.

Betting Odd/Even Rounds

Odd/even rounds betting is a way to wager on a round specific outcome without selecting the winner of the fight. When betting on this market, the fight must not go the distance for the bet to pay out.

Betting the odd means the fight will end in one of the odd-numbered rounds (e.g. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11). Betting the even means the fight will end in one of the even-numbered rounds (e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12).

Rounds Market Betting Strategy

As it goes with any boxing bet, the best way to earn payouts on the rounds market is by doing a tremendous amount of research.

Gambling.com’s boxing betting strategy guide offers helpful tips and resources for making the most out of every betting opportunity. When playing the rounds market, it’s important to note how a fighter has performed in the past.

Boxrec.com is a handy resource for creating betting models for the rounds market because it includes how a fighter has performed in the past, including what rounds the fighter has stopped or been stopped in during past performances.

Moreover, keep in mind that while past results can be helpful in predicting future behaviors, there are really no completely safe bets on the rounds market.

The payouts offered there are larger than other markets for a reason. Make sure any wager placed in any market is a personally palatable risk.