Protect Yourself At All Times
By Michael Worden Of Madwinners.com

"Protect yourself at all times," One of the last things that a boxer will hear before he throws his first punch of a fight. For a sports bettor these could be the words that save your bankroll and your sanity. For me, they are the words that I live by whenever I am considering a wager on any boxing match.

In today's world of boxing, the "Mega Fight" is all but non-existent. With few exceptions, (Mayweather/De La Hoya, May 5th) the majority of today's fighters are known only in the small circle of die-hard boxing fans and a smattering of sports writers. What this leads us into, is a sport where the athletes are beginning to weigh their Risk versus Reward status before entering the ring. The majority of the "Stars" in the game today are handpicking their opponents based on financial and personal gain, not on professional greatness. This is where the boxing handicapper runs into trouble and it will also be where we make our money.

As we all know, boxing is far from the cleanest sport out there today. In fact the stench can be smelled from Vegas to London and without any single sanctioning body; it will only get worse before it gets better. As the promoters begin to take more and more control out of the hands of the fighters, the fights themselves are becoming more and more lopsided. Promoters are pairing two time world champions against an undefeated fighter from Uganda who has never faced anyone with a winning record. The risk here to the fighter (and promoter) is small and the reward is great. Hey!!! The challenger was undefeated right?

The books see through these little shams and the odds are becoming ridiculous, if they even post a line at all. As bettors you need to play the same game that the fighters are playing, Risk Versus Reward.

RISK VERSUS REWARD This is simple. Why in the world would you risk $1200 to win $100? You wouldn't, and there is no way in hell that you should. Over the last two years, 23% of all major televised bouts, (HBO, SHOWTIME and PPV), ended with the dog coming out on top. The idea is to find the big dog and take a swing. There are going to be plenty of even, or fairly close, money fights throughout a year but finding the one dog that can break the bank is the best way to earn some cash. The boxers are doing it and you should too. The risk is going to be small; maybe a unit or two, and the rewards could be in excess of 10 times that amount.

Twenty-three percent is a fairly good number considering the fact that the money lines for many of these fights are becoming extremely inflated. The next piece of advice that can be offered is to shop around.

SHOP AROUND Boxing money lines shift and expand much more than other sports. This is one of the main reasons that it is vital for all boxing gamblers to search out the bet lines for any particular fight that you are looking to bet. Online books are going to alter and swing a hell of a lot more than your neighborhood bar bookmaker. When betting other sports the web might just be the place to look for the best lines, but I would discourage you to settle on a line that might not be the best deal that you can get.

When betting a dog, the web could be the best place to look because the favorite can generally be overrated and overpriced due to his status of being more well-known with the general public. Because of the favorite's sheer popularity, you'll find that many challengers have great values online and are definitely worth betting on. The point here is to do your research.

DOING YOUR RESEARCH Although measuring your Risk Versus Reward status is very important, there are still going to be some fights out there that are even money, or at least closer to what a normal sports line should be.

Knowing the fighters is the SINGLE most important rule to betting boxing. You need to know everything - amateur background, fight history, knockout ratio. These things will all be a major factor when deciding on a fighter. Records can lie and a good way to decipher whether or not that Ugandan undefeated prospect is the real deal or not is to not only research his former opponents but also look at who his opponents have fought. If he beat four guys in the past two years, who all have losing records, the proof might be behind the men that they have fought. Three of those four guys could have been thrown in with world class opposition before they were ready. Research is the key to every fight.

Another area of research is discovering how his previous opponents faired after the bout with your fighter. A great example here is Jeff "Left Hook" Lacy. Lacy was a former gold medal Olympian with a stellar amateur background. His opponents looked legit enough on paper and when it came time for his first true test, he was beaten down like a red-headed stepchild at the hands of Joe Calzaghe. That fight made Calzaghe look invincible, and although he is a great fighter, many in the boxing world were already crowing him the next coming of. (Insert your boxing greats name here). At Lacy's next fight, almost a year later, many thought that he would just walk right through untested Vitaly Tsypko. Instead he fought to a ten round majority draw in a fight that he was listed as a -450 favorite. The point here is not about Lacy, but Calzaghe. One amazing performance by Calzaghe is beginning to look a little bit cloudier now isn't it?

HUNGER

The intangible here is just how hungry is your fighter. On many occasions a boxer will look past a hungry fighter and towards his big money fight that he has already scheduled down the road. This is where you can make some serious cash.

Whenever you see a fighter that has a title fight "lined up" if he gets by this journeyman, take a good long look at the challenger. How many title shots has he ever received in his career? Is this fight going to open doors for him that he has never been invited into? Is this his first chance to fight on HBO? Hunger is an amazing factor in betting this sport and some of the fighters out there are STARVING. The proof can be seen clearly in many fights from the last few years (Judah/Baldomir, De La Hoya/Sturm, Forrest/Mayorga). All were fighters who were looking through the man standing in front of them and towards the pile of cash on the other side. This has lead to major wins for many of us and huge losses for those who did not weigh the Risk versus Reward of their bet.

The heavy favorites are going to take a huge investment but if you protect yourself at all times and weigh your Risk versus Reward potential, there is a boatload of cash to be made by betting boxing.

The Madcappers are always available to answer your questions regarding anything related to sports betting. Even if you are not yet enrolled in our Personalcapper service we invite you to call us at 800-511-3003 with any questions. Or email us madcappers@madwinners.com