When it comes to sport it is easy to assume that it is football that brings in the big money but actually, boxing and MMA have their own niche audience that brings in plenty of revenue too. One of the ways that boxing brings in big money is to host exhibition fights – these can be part of a bigger tournament or a one-off, and sometimes they’re just in place to raise money for charity. Over recent years the number of these fights has increased and started to become more popular – but are they here to stay?
Any career comes with its pros and cons, but choosing to go into the professional fighter industry is something that should be given plenty of thought. After all, with every fight you’re putting yourself at risk of injury – even the very best boxers and MMA fighters get injured. That isn’t to say that one shouldn’t train and choose this career path but it is something that should be given careful consideration before any decisions are made.
There are different ways that fighters make money; sometimes it can be through a contract or sponsorship with a brand that means that they have to take part in a certain number of fights or have a certain number of wins. Although this money is a pretty consistent income, it isn’t always the way to make the most money which is why some fighters are choosing a different route.
Big-money exhibition fights are usually fights that are likely to attract a large audience – and as such have a large number of bets placed on it and of course, a large number of brand sponsorship opportunities. All of these options to make money usually means that the fighters are paid more for the fight, even if they do happen less often.
Will Fighters Start to Choose This Route?
The career path of each professional fighter is somewhat of a personal decision and therefore the route that they take may be different. There are certainly pros and cons for choosing to do more exhibition fighting than smaller fights – for starters you’ll need to fight less in order to earn money because each fight tends to pay a larger amount. There are health benefits to choosing this route because the fewer fights they undertake the less risk there is of injury – although the fights they do take part in will be bigger, potentially against more skilful fights so it is something that is worth bearing in mind.
As with any sports personality, branding is a big thing and something that needs to be kept in mind if a fighter wants to remain popular. If they are taking part in fewer fights then it could be that they seem less relevant and boxing/MMA fans may shift their interest to fighters that seem more exciting to watch.
What Do Fans Want?
Fans want fun, excitement and adrenaline – they don’t really mind how the matches take place as long as they get this. Exhibition games tend to be harder to get tickets for and you may have to pay to watch the matches on TV which can put fans off. However, that said, as the Euros have shown people do love to get involved and feel connected to the sport so exhibition games are still well-loved.
Fans want to be able to watch their favourite fighters in the ring and place a bet on the outcome. Over recent years the popularity of placing bets on sporting events has slowly been on the increase and betting on boxing matches and MMA fights is no exception. Both online and land-based bookmakers have had to step up their game to make sure that they offer odds even on really small fights because everyone wants to feel involved in the match.
What To Bet On?
One of the things that boxing and MMA fans will have strong opinions on is what to bet on. Many will want to bet on who the overall winner is, whereas others might want to bet on how many rounds the fight will take or who will get knocked out. In order for any bookmaker to be successful, they need to make sure that they offer odds on all of these to ensure that people go there to place their bets rather than elsewhere.
It is worth bearing in mind that the odds for matches will change as any fight gets nearer – news of how players are doing, how they fared in their last match and even how they came across in any pre-match interviews will change the odds that bookies offer. As such, if you do want to place a bet you really do need to keep your finger on the pulse and ensure you’re up to date with the latest pre-fight news. For example, you can find the latest odds for the Fury Wilder fight on these betting sites recommended by experts.
There is no doubt that big-money exhibition fights are here to stay. They’re supported by both the fans and mainstream media which means that they’re not going to disappear any time soon. In fact, the popularity of this type of match may even increase as people start to get more involved and place bigger bets on events. With lots of sporting events cancelled over the last year lots of people will be looking for a bit of escapism and how to get back into their favourite sports – and exhibition fights with big audiences and plenty of entertainment might well be what it takes to tempt people back into watching the sports they know and love. That doesn’t mean that big-money exhibition fights are the only matches to stick around – betting sites support all smaller matches too so it is unlikely that these are going to go anywhere anytime soon either.