Here we offer a comprehensive list of the most important terms and phrases you will encounter when betting on boxing online. We have arranged these alphabetically, helping you better understand this sport. Knowing what the commonly mentioned boxing terms mean will help you improve your betting game and make better betting choices when betting on boxing online. No ado, here is our boxing terms glossary:
A
- Accidental Head Butt – when the boxers butt their heads unintentionally, and the referee warns both players to be more careful without assigning penalties
- Alias – the nickname the boxer has, usually describing a specific trait
- Alphabet Soup – a derogatory term that refers to the abbreviations of the different boxing bodies
- Amateur Boxing – a competitive boxing match where the boxers are beginners and are not paid to fight
- Apron – the part of the boxing ring outside the ring ropes that extends to the floor
B
- Backpedal – when a boxer moves backwards from an opponent in the hope of avoiding an attack
- Be First – tip the coach yells to their boxer, advising them to be more aggressive and throw the first punch
- Bell – the small bell that is used to signal the start and end of each round
- Below the Belt – a punch aimed low, below the waistband of the boxer’s trunks
- Blow-by-blow – detailed explanation of the boxing match
- Bob and Weave – a defensive strategy for moving side to side to avoid getting punched
- Body Work – offensive strategy of aiming the blows to the opponent’s body in the hope of wearing them down faster
- Bolo Punch – a type of punch that combines a hook and uppercut; it is an effective way to distract the opponent
- Bout – a common term referring to a boxing match
- Brawler – a boxer who usually has a more aggressive strategy and likes to exchange punches
- Break – a command by the referee to stop the action and separate the boxers
Credit: IviBet
C
- Canvas – the term that references the floor of the boxing ring. Historically, the boxing rings had canvas floors, which is where the name comes from
- Card – the lineup of the fights in a boxing event
- Catch-Weight – a boxing match where the fighters don’t adhere to the usual weight divisions, but have agreed to a predetermined weight at which they’ll fight
- Caught Cold – a term describing a boxer who gets hurt or stops the match in the early rounds because they were not adequately prepared or warmed up
- Challenger – the boxer who is fighting against the reigning champion or a favorite
- Champion – the fighter who holds the title
- Check Hook – a type of counterpunch that “catches” the opponent as he is moving forward in an attack. It includes throwing a hook punch while stepping back in time with the opponent’s punch, to catch them in their step
- Clinch – the moment when the fighters grab and hold on to each other to prevent exchanging more blows
- Combination – a series of successive punches that are thrown without a break in between punches
- Contender – the boxer who is fighting for a championship belt
- Corkscrew Punch – a punch that is thrown in an arching motion that twists on impact and causes a cut
- Cornerman – the coach or cutman who tends the fighter in the corner between rounds
- Counterpunch – any punch that a fighter throws as a response to an offensive move by their opponent
- Cover-Up – a defensive move where the fighter hides behind their gloves to avoid a direct punch
- Cross – a punch that the fighter throws with their rear hand, where the force travels across their body
- Cruiseweight – a weight category that includes any fighter who weighs 200 lbs or less
- Cutman – a person who tends to any cuts, abrasions, or swelling the boxer may receive during the match
- Cutting-off-the-Ring – a strategy where the boxer limits their opponent’s movements in the ring by not allowing them to move freely around
D
- Decision – the verdict by the ringside judges that determines the winner of the match. Usually, the decision is made at the end of the fight, but it can happen after a foul, an accident, or an injury, where the scorecards need to be referenced
- Disqualification – when a boxer makes too many fouls or violates the rules and is removed from the match; a disqualified boxer instantly loses the match
- Dive – when the fighter goes down on purpose and loses the match
- Down and Out – when the boxer stays down after the referee counts to 10
- Draw – when the match does not have a clear winner, because the judges’ scores are the same
- Duck – when the boxer drops down to avoid a punch
E
- Eight Count – when the referee counts to eight and gives the boxer a little break
- Enswell – a stainless steel tool that the cutman keeps on ice and uses on an injured area to reduce bleeding and swelling
- Evasion – missing the opponent’s attack by dodging their punches
F
- Faded – a term for a fighter who tires in the later rounds, or is no longer performing up to their best abilities
- Featherweight – a weight class in boxing where the fighters weigh 126 pounds or less
- Feint – faking a punch to draw out a reaction from the opponent in the hope of throwing them off their game or making them make a mistake
- Flash Knockdown – a fast knockdown or a fall from which the fighter recovers quickly
- Floor – when a boxer knocks down their opponent with great force and throws them to the floor
- Flyweight – a weight class in boxing where the fighters weigh 112 pounds or less
- Footwork – the way the boxer moves throughout the ring
- Foul – to break the boxing rules; it usually leads to a point deduction or a note from the referee
- Fringe Contender – a fighter who is not that well known in the higher ranks, but is slowly making their way into the higher ranks
G
- Gate – the amount of money that is generated from the sales of the tickets for a boxing event
- Gatekeeper – a boxer that is not very threatening, but is often defeated by other opponents
- Glass Jaw – a boxer who is easily knocked out
- Go the Distance – to finish the entire match without a knockout
- Go to the Body – an offensive strategy where a boxer aims their blows to their opponent’s midsection
- Go to the Cards – when a boxing match finishes without a clear winner, and the winner is determined by the scorecards
- Governing Body – an organization that approves fights and establishes the rules
- Groin Protector – the protective cover worn by boxers to protect their hips, waist, belly, and groin
H
- Hand Wraps – the tape or bandages that boxers wrap around their hands to protect them during training
- Haymaker – a type of full-force punch where the boxer intends to knock out the opponent
- Head Butt – the action where the fighters accidentally butt their heads together. In some cases, this can be on purpose to cause a foul
- Heavyweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh over 200 lbs
- Hook – a punch thrown by rotating the body and hitting with the front hand, bringing the elbow up in line with the punch. The hook intends to reach around the boxer’s guard and hit them at the side of the head
- Hugging – another term referring to clinching or holding the opponent
I
- Infighting – a close-range fight where the boxers exchange punches without fully extending their arms
J
- Jab – a punch thrown with the front hand straight toward the opponent
- Journeyman – a boxer who is good, but not great; newcomers usually use journeymen boxers as tests of skill and endurance
Credit: Wazamba
K
- Kidney Punch – an illegal blow to the opponent’s lower back, where the kidneys are
- Knockdown – the action when a boxer falls down on the mat and the referee starts counting
- Knockout/KO – when the boxer can’t stand up after falling down on the mat, the referee finishes counting to ten and ends the match
L
- Lead Right – a type of punch that travels the boxer’s body and is thrown quickly to catch the opponent off guard
- Light Flyweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 108 lbs or less
- Light Heavyweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 175 lbs or less
- Light Middleweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 154 lbs or less
- Light Welterweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 140 lbs or less
- Lineal Champion – the boxer who won a title from another boxer who also won the title from another champion
- Low Blow – an illegal blow that lands below the waistband of the boxer’s trunks
M
- Main Event – the most popular or most recognizable fight on the card
- Majority Decision – when two judges score for one fighter and the third judge decides on a draw
- Majority Draw – when two judges decide on a draw, and the third judge scores for one of the fighters
- Match Maker – the person who organizes the boxing events and prepares the fight card
- Mauler – a boxer with an intense and wild fighting style that uses roughhouse tactics
- Middleweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 160 lbs or less
- Minimum Weight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 105 lbs or less
- Mouth Guard – a protective rubber guard that is placed in the mouth to protect the teeth, gums, and jaw from injury
N
- Neutral Corner – the corner not assigned to the fighters; when a fighter is down, the opponent goes to the neutral corner until the referee makes the count
- No Count – a quick knockdown where the fighter gets knocked down and stands up quickly before the referee begins counting
- No Decision – a match without a winner; also referred to as No Contest
- Novice – a boxer with fewer than ten sanctioned fights
- Number One Contender – the second-best fighter in a weight class after the world champion
O
- On the Ropes – when the fighter lies against the ropes of the ring and assumes a defensive stance
- One-Two Combo – a combination of two punches: a jab and a cross thrown one after the other
- Opening – an opening in the boxer’s defense that the opponent takes advantage of
- Orthodox – a fighting stance where a right-hand boxer leads with a left jab and uses his right hand as his cross
- Outpoint – when one boxer outscores his opponent by landing more blows each round
- Outside Fighter – a boxer who prefers to fight from the outside, usually with long-range jabs
- Overhand – an arching downward punch
P
- Parry – when a fighter blocks the punch and pushes it away
- Paw – when the boxer throws a test punch without any real intent
- Peek-A-Boo – a fighting stance where the boxer places their hands in front of their face and moves the torso from side to side to confuse their opponent; Mike Tyson was very famous for this fighting stance
- Picking-off Punches – when the boxer blocks and redirects the opponent’s punches before they land
- Play Possum – when a fighter feigns an injury or tiredness to trick their opponent
- Plodder – a heavy-footed or slow fighter who consistently moves forward
- Point Deduction – when the referee deducts a point from the scorecard because of a foul or ignoring the warnings from the referee
- Pound-for-Pound – a comparative term that describes a boxer’s skill level regardless of weight category, these are usually used when calculating the boxing betting odds
- Prizefighter – when a fighter takes part in a boxing match for the money
- Promoter – the person/organization that manages the boxing event
- Pugilist – an outdated term for a fist-fighter or a boxer
- Pull – when the boxer leans or steps back to avoid a hit
- Pull Your Punches – when a boxer does not put his entire force in the punches, usually during sparring or as a strategy to trick the opponent
- Puncher’s Chance – when a boxer is outmatched and the only way to win is to land powerful punches in the hope of knocking out their opponent
- Purse – the amount of money the boxers earn from the fight
Credit: 20Bet
R
- Rabbit Punch – an illegal punch that lands on the back of the opponent’s head
- Referee – the main person in the ring who sets the law, making sure the fighters respect the rules. The referee starts the count when a boxer gets knocked down and will stop a fight when he believes a fighter is too tired or injured to continue
- Rest Period – the minute of rest between each round
- Ring Doctor – a medical doctor who examines the fighters if there is a serious injury and can stop the fight if he believes there is a serious health problem
- Ring Generalship – the way a boxer takes command of the situation in the ring to their advantage
- Ring Girls/Round Call Girls – the women who carry numbered cards during the rest period, telling the audience which round is coming up next
- Ringside – the spectator seats closest to the boxing ring
- Roadwork – the preparatory training practices of running, jogging, and sprinting
- Roll with the Punches – when a boxer moves their body the same way their opponent punches in order to avoid getting hit or lessen the impact of the blows
- Rope-a-Dope – attempt to tire out an opponent or outlast them while on the ropes
- Roughhousing – an offensive strategy where the boxer hopes to land a dangerous punch, usually by boxers who believe they’ll lose the match
- Rubber Match – when two players fight for a third time, and they’ve each won one previous match
S
- Sanctioning Body – the boxing organization that sets the rules and sanctions the boxing match
- Saved by the Bell – when a boxer is punched/knocked down as the bell signals the end of the round
- Seconds Out – when the referee informs the fighters that the rest period is over and the cornermen need to step out of the ring
- Shadow Boxing – when a boxer throws punches in the air to warm up before a match or as practice
- Shifting – changing the fighting stance from orthodox to southpaw
- Shoe Shine – a series of quick, flashy-looking punches that look impressive but don’t do a lot of damage
- Shop Worn – when a fighter takes too much punishment and has significant damage to their body during their career
- Shoulder Roll – a defensive move where the boxer uses their shoulder to block a punch
- Slip – avoiding a punch by moving the head out of the way of a punch
- Southpaw – a fighting stance where a left-handed boxer leads with their right hand and foot
- Spar – a practice match between fighters in a training gym
- Split Decision – when the three judges are split on the outcome of the fight
- Split Decision Draw – when the three judges decide three different outcomes; one for one fighter, another for the other fighter, and the third judge for a draw
- Stablemate – fighters who train together and fight for the same manager or promoter
- Stepping Stone – a semi-successful boxer who is not considered a formidable opponent
- Stick and Move – a fighting strategy where the boxer is constantly moving and punching
- Stylist – a boxer who is highly skilled and has impeccable technique but does not focus on power
- Sucker Punch – when a boxer throws a punch after the bell rings
- Super Middleweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 168 lbs or less
T
- Technical Decision – when the fight is stopped early because of an injury or disqualification, and the scorecards are used for the decision
- Technical Draw – then the fight ends early, and the point score is even
- Technical Knockout/TKO – when the referee ends the fight because he decides that a boxer can’t continue the fight, either because of an injury or because of breaking the rules, and declares the opponent a winner
- Throw in the Towel – when a person from the boxer’s corner throws a towel into the ring to stop the fight and surrender the match, usually because of a serious injury or the fighter taking too many blows
- Toe-to-Toe – when two evenly-matched fighters will not back down, but stand one against the other and exchange punches
- Trial Horse – when an experienced boxer is used as a test to gauge the abilities and preparedness of an up-and-coming fighter
- Tying-Up – a defensive technique where a boxer clinches his opponent’s arms against their body so they can’t throw punches
U
- Unanimous Decision – when all three judges unanimously agree that one boxer is the clear winner
- Undercard – the boxing fights that lead to the main match in a boxing event
- Underdog – the fighter that is believed to have little to no chance of winning
- Uppercut – an upward punch intended to punch the opponent in the chin; usually it is delivered from a crouched position where the boxer uses their entire torso to twist and punch
- Upstart – a young fighter who is showing real potential
V
- Venue – the place/hall/event space where the boxing event takes place
W
- Walkout Bout – “filler” fights that are added on the end of the card for when the main matches end up early
- Weight Class – the weight categories that professional boxers belong to, to provide a more even playing field
- Welterweight – a weight category where the boxers weigh 140 lbs or less
- White Collar Boxing – when business professionals with white-collar professions train and box as amateurs
- Wing – a boxer’s stamina and level of preparedness
