Sportsbooks could play a major role in the revival of professional boxing – just as it has in horse racing.
For too many years now the glory days of the fight game have seemed to be something of the past. In part, this has been because of the rise of MMA and UFC.
Great heavyweights like Muhammad Ali, Rocky Marciano, Joe Louis, Larry Holmes and more recently Mike Tyson have come and gone. So having British and Russian standouts like Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko.
And what about the lighter divisions? Thanks to Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, they’ve produced more headline-makers recently than the heavyweight division.
But here too, there has been a paucity of legends like Sugar Ray Robinson, Ray Charles Leonard, and Roberto Duran.
That, however, might all be about to change. After decades of exclusion, sports-betting is back in the hub of professional boxing.
New Jersey led the fight to legalize sports betting
Spearheaded by New Jersey which played a leading role in the Supreme Court ending its prohibition, sportsbetting is taking off.
New Jersey’s 14 sportsbooks brought in $3.23 billion in betting handle in state’s first year of business. Now, as more and more states legalize sportsbooks, large ones like Pennsylvania and Illinois could soon follow suit.
Boxing observers generally agree that sports-betting helped heighten the exciting buzz surrounding Pacquiao’s most recent victory. The holder of 13 world records in eight different divisions beat unbeaten welterweight champion Keith Thurman on points.
The Pacman’s age (40) and his phenomenal record clearly played a big role in making the fight a sporting standout.
It also helped US sportsbooks get an exceptional amount of boxing betting business. The feeling in the boxing world, meantime, is that betting helped boost the fight.
Betting and boxing go hand in hand
They and the betting community both believe the two go hand in hand and are mutually beneficial
This is so, they believe because betting helps the boxing fans get closer and more involved in the action.
The next upcoming fight boxing fans might want to wager on is between Brian Rose and Antony Fowler.
Scheduled for Liverpool, England, on Friday night, this middleweight bout sees Fowler as PointsBet’s favorite at -910. Rose is its underdog at +570.
There have been reports of a return battle between Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather Jnr. on New Year’s Day next year. PointsBet are already offering odds of -250 on Mayweather, who won their last clash, and +2000 on Pacquiao.
In the meantime, there is another fight taking place closer to the time boxing punters might fancy. It seems to be one of the more popular fights with New Jersey’s bookmakers.
Between welterweights Errol Spence and Shawn Porter, its takes place in Los Angeles on September 28 and Spence is favored. FanDuel have him at -400 and Porter at +250.
