Method of Victory Betting in Boxing

Boxer WinningAn exciting option for boxing fans betting on the big fight is what is almost universally referred to as the Method of Victory market.

As with many of the most popular betting options in any sport, it is simple, easy to understand and for the most part self-explanatory. That said, if you are new to boxing, betting, or both, we’ll explain all you need to know about this great extra boxing betting option.

Boxing’s most popular market is simply who will win a fight, with your wager winning no matter how or when your chosen fighter triumphs. Round betting is also common, in which you make a prediction about not just who will win but when they will win. The market we are looking at here is a prediction about who will win and how they will do so, with the round in which it happens being irrelevant.

Method of Victory Options

Method of Victory Betting

Whilst bookies have helpfully agreed on the name of the market (more or less), they do not always stick to the same options within it. In general, the following selections will be offered by most major boxing betting sites; though sometimes you will see more options and sometimes fewer, and some bookies may break things down slightly differently. None the less, most of the biggest bookmakers will let you pick from the following:

  • Fighter 1 to win by decision or technical decision
  • Fighter 2 to win by decision or technical decision
  • Fighter 1 to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification
  • Fighter 2 to win by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification
  • Draw or technical draw

As with all markets, odds will vary from fight to fight according to how the bout is predicted to play out, and they will also differ from one bookie to the next. However, to give you an idea of what sort of odds this market may throw up, let us consider a hypothetical cruiserweight contest between two reasonably well-matched fighters.

In our example there is a clear favourite, with Gary Hardashell priced at odds of 1/2, Trevor Tootough at 6/4 and the draw at a much bigger price of 18/1, as is typical. Despite being between cruiserweights with decent KO percentages, the fight is rated a 4/6 shot to go the distance. It is 11/10 to finish inside 12 rounds, meaning the bookies predict there is a very good chance it will go to points but equally a fair chance there will be a stoppage. Indicative Method of Victory odds for such a fight can be seen below:

Method of victory Odds
Gary Hardashell by decision or technical decision 5/4
Trevor Tootough by decision or technical decision 9/2
Gary Hardashell by by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification 11/4
Trevor Tootough by knockout, technical knockout or disqualification 3/1
Draw or technical draw 18/1

Odds will vary greatly depending on the styles of both fighters but this is an excellent market when you feel confident you know who will win and want a way to increase the payout. Often fights have a really obvious look of being likely to go the distance, and so backing your preferred boxer to triumph via the judges’ scorecards is a nice way to increase the odds.

On the other hand, backing a big favourite who is known for their heavy hitting to win by KO, TKO or disqualification is also a nice way to do the same. Depending on how the bookies view the fight, the boost to the odds will not always be huge but it will rarely be so insignificant as to not seem worthwhile.

What Do These Different Options Mean?

Once again, if you are a big boxing fan or a very regular bettor on the sport, this may seem a little obvious. However, for any newbies out there, here is an explanation of each of the standard method of victory options. Note that all bookies will settle this market according to the official result as announced by the match referee.

Decision Or Technical Decision

Boxing Technical KnockoutA victory by “decision” simply means that the fighter has won on points. So the bout has gone through the allotted rounds and the result is settled by the judges’ (or sometimes referee’s) scorecard. A decision can be unanimous (all three judges agree who won), split (two judges favour one fighter and the third the other) or majority (two judges award the fight to one fighter and the other makes it a draw). Whatever decision is made by the three judges, any points win falls under the umbrella of win by decision.

A technical decision is a far rarer verdict and occurs when the fight has to be stopped due to an injury not caused by a punch. Typically this is an accidental head butt. If a certain (variable) number of rounds have been fought then at this stage the fight goes to the judges’ scorecards. The fight is awarded to whoever was winning at that stage and is then a technical decision. If the required number of rounds has not passed then this is a technical draw (see below).

Knockout, Technical Knockout Or Disqualification

Boxing KnockoutThe majority of people are probably most familiar with knockouts in terms of how a fighter might win a bout. A KO is the most dramatic, exciting and prestigious way to win a fight and whilst rendering your opponent unconscious may be viewed as a rather barbaric aim, thankfully that isn’t necessary to score a win by knockout. If a fighter fails to make their feet to beat the ref’s count, this will be classed as a KO.

A technical knockout, or TKO, is most commonly awarded when the referee decides during a round that a fighter can no longer continue. This is usually after a knock down, when the fighter may beat the count but remains unsteady on their feet or seems incoherent.

Alternatively the ref may stop the fight, resulting in a technical knockout, if one fighter seems unable to defend themselves or is taking a particularly bad, potentially dangerous beating. In some fights if a boxer is knocked down three times in the same round this will also be classed as a TKO. Last of all should the fighter be retired by their corner, either during a round or between rounds, this will also be settled as a TKO.

The last category that falls under this selection is rather simpler. If the referee disqualifies a fighter, usually for repeated foul play, or occasionally for a very serious or flagrant breach of the rules, the other fighter is awarded the victory by disqualification.

Draw Or Technical Draw

Touch Gloves BoxingA technical draw is awarded, as alluded to above, when the fight is stopped early due to a non-punch injury but insufficient rounds have passed for a verdict by decision to be made. This is often before the fifth round has started but this varies.

The other time a technical draw is awarded is when the fight is stopped early and although enough rounds have passed for a decision to be made, the judges cannot separate the fighters. Such a scenario sees the fight go to points before all rounds have been fought and then settled as a draw on those scorecards.

A draw, be it technical or after 12 rounds (or however many the fight was scheduled for), can come about in a number of ways once the fight has gone to the decision of the judges. A majority draw means that two judges marked the fighters to be level on points. Even though the third judge awarded the bout to one or other of the pugilists involved, that single scorecard is effectively “outvoted” by the two who saw it as a draw and thus the spoils are shared.

A split draw sees each of the three judges mark the fight differently. One judge awards it to the red corner, one to the blue corner and the third as a draw. With no winner, once again, the overall verdict is a draw (or technical draw if the fight was stopped early).

The last way in which judges can award a draw is probably the rarest of them all and sees all three judges unable to separate the two boxers. All three cards have the fight level and thus the bout is declared a unanimous draw (or technical draw).

Method of Victory Rules

Boxing RulesMost of the rules are really covered by the definitions we have provided above and this is for the most part a simple market with nothing too much for punters to worry about. The result is determined by the declaration made by the referee or announcer following the fight. Any change to this due to appeal or amendment will not alter the bet settlement.

Precise rules regarding what happens in the event of any changes made to the fight vary from one bookie to another. It is safe to assume that a change to either fighter will void the bet but in the unlikely event that the number of rounds scheduled alters, many bookmakers will allow bets to stand. In terms of a fight being postponed, which is not uncommon due to injuries sustained during training camps, often bets will stand if the fight is rescheduled within a certain timeframe but once again different bookmakers have different rules.

Lastly, in the highly uncommon event of a fight being declared a no contest, bookies will usually declare any method of victory wagers as null and void. Such an outcome might be due to a double disqualification, or some unusual and unforeseen eventuality such as the referee effectively knocking out one of the fighters!