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The Many Ways To Enjoy Boxing

Back in the day, boxing was almost as famous as horse racing. This isn’t surprising since the sport provided just the right amount of fast-paced action and adrenaline to quickly become one of the favourites among the public. Amidst the action-packed and excitable atmosphere of the ring, it didn’t take long for betting on matches to gain massive popularity. The sport really kicked off in the US in the mid-1900s, marking the time when The Ring Magazine was first founded. Betting, which grew exponentially during that time, added an extra layer of excitement and unpredictability to the fights. 

 

The types of wagers that became popular were round bets, where punters would try and predict how many rounds a match would go on for, and betting on what kind of finish would take place – for example by technical knockout, by the decision and by split decision. Bets on the underdog fighter also became common with massive returns for the punters and an added more excitement as betting against the favourite meant high risk and high reward.

 

The appearance of brick and mortar bookies, removed from the live action of the ring, brought a new aspect to the way boxing matches could now be enjoyed as bets could be made away from the action of the ring. Then, once bookmakers began to offer mobile betting services, online betting with the likes of Paddy Power and William Hill took off, affording part of its popularity to the convenience of placing bets from anywhere with an internet connection.

 

As the internet got faster and its use more widely spread, it became possible to start playing games online on smartphones and to take the betting game to the next level. This paved the way for sports-themed slots, which offered a myriad of different sports themes like football or rugby along with the old-time boxing favourites such as Fisticuffs Slot or Mike Tyson Knockout Slot Slot.

 

In fact, sports have been a stable motif in games throughout the history of game development. Thanks to significant improvements in design technology, there are now some pretty impressive boxing games available on smartphones and tablets, such as Real Boxing 2: CREED, Boxing Star or World Boxing Challenge, providing new and unparalleled ways to enjoy boxing by allowing the player to ‘become’ the boxer. The principle among all of those is similar, the player takes control of a boxing sim to perform a series of tactical manoeuvres. Real Boxing 2: CREED affords the player the possibility to use a series of moves to imitate their real-life boxing heroes. The game offers moves like punching, blocking, and skipping, all to the tune of sound advice given by Sylvester Stallone, who appears throughout the game to give the player tips. 

 

Of course, the experience of being the boxer is only compounded on other devices with larger screens and better image resolution, such as personal computers or gaming consoles. These, often offer a different selection of games. In the case or Real Boxing 2: CREED, the game is available on both, PC, Android or iOS device. Gaming consoles offer a wide selection of games that include boxing among other fighting styles, but if pure boxing is your thing, you can’t do much better than Fight Night Round 4. This game is made to satisfy even the most sceptical of boxing fans. Stunning graphics, combined with the constant movement of the camera and great sound effects make the experience incredibly realistic, not to mention that fans can recreate such legendary fights as 1974’s Ali vs Frasier taking the thrill and enjoyment of boxing to an ultimate high.

 

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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