Speculate on Boxing
Boxing had a traumatic start in China. In 1953, at a big competition in the northern city of Tianjin, a boxer died after a bout. Chinese sports authorities were so anxious that they dropped the sport from the country's first National Games in 1959.
However, in December 1979, Deng Xiaoping, China's paramount leader, invited boxer Muhammad Ali to China. After a meeting between the two icons, it was said that Deng sent a message that read "If we want to win friends, if we want to win respect, we have to win medals" and boxing was on its way to popularity.
In the 1980s, Chinese boxers began training again, even without punching bags or gloves. Sandbags were used instead. Liu Gang, one of the earliest boxing recruits, is now China's biggest boxing promoter.
It would take a decade before Chinese boxers competed in internationally. They made their debut at the 1992.
It would take 12 more years before China won its first Olympic Boxing medal. The 2004 Athens Summer Olympics, Zou Shiming won bronze in the light flyweight division. Zou would eventually be known as China's most successful amateur boxer of all time, winning three gold medals at the 2005, 2007 and 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships. He also won gold in the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games, also in the light flyweight division.
Other notable Chinese Boxers include Zhang Xiaoping, who won the gold medal in the Light Heavyweight (81 kg) event during the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Meanwhile, Xiong Zhao Zhong became the first male boxer from China to win a major professional world boxing title - the WBC minimum weight title on November 24, 2012.
Types of Boxing Markets
Money Line Boxing Markets
Money line boxing markets are decided by the straight-up winner of a boxing match. A boxing money line usually looks like:
| Manny Pacquiao | +175 |
| Floyd Mayweather | -225 |
In the example above, Pacquiao is the underdog, marked by the “+”. Betting $100 on him would give you a $175 profit if he wins the match. On the other hand, Mayweather is the favorite, marked by the “-” sign. Betting $225 on him would give you $100 profit if he wins the match.
Propositions Boxing Markets
Mega boxing fights may be few and far in between these days, but Propositions extend the betting market of a single match. Boxing Propositions include speculating on:
- Which boxer will score the first knockdown?
- Which boxer will win a particular round?
- Who would land more punches?
- Would a knockdown be scored at a particular round?
- Would the fight end at a certain round?
- Would the fight go to a decision?
- Would a boxer go over the weight limit?
Boxing Draw (Tie) Markets
A unique feature of boxing matches is the Draw or Tie. A boxing match is declared a draw if all three judges call the fight even or if one judge favors one fighter, a second judge supports the other and the third calls the fight a draw. An example of this is the March 1999 heavyweight unification bout between Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis at Madison Square Garden – all three judges had scored the fight differently, with Eugenia Williams favoring Holyfield , Stanley Christodoulou favoring Lewis and Larry O'Connell calling the fight a draw.