Boxing Betting Headlines This Month | Fury vs Joshua Again, Market Watch &Fight Analysis | August 2026

By Eric Uribe, Updated on: Aug 11, 2026

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Biggest boxing betting storylines in August

News and recent events very much influence what the next boxing betting trends will be. There’s always a lot happening in the sport, but these stories are the most influential right now. In case you missed it, here’s what’s happening:

1. Anthony Joshua nearly blows the Tyson Fury mega-fight: AJ and Fury both won their tune-up fights in late July, but one of them made it look WAY harder than it needed to be. Fury cruised past 46-year-old Mariusz Wach before it was stopped by the corner after seven rounds. Joshua, though, was dropped twice in the first round by massive underdog Kristian Prenga. In miraculous fashion, AJ bounced back and stopped Prenga in round two. With the wins, the long-awaited Fury-Joshua fight remains on, with rumors saying it’s planned for November. But if you’re a bettor, AJ’s near-disaster just gave you a lot more to think about. Does Joshua have any chin left on him, or was it a freak performance? As mentioned before, Fury is the slight betting favorite to win.
2. Top Rank wins the rights to Haney-Davis: it’s official, Devin Haney vs. Keyshawn Davis is going to Top Rank, who spent $8.55 million to win the WBO purse bid — nearly four times more than the competing $2.35 million offer. The promotion is said to be targeting October 3 for the bout, which will be for Haney’s welterweight title. Betting odds should favor Haney (33-0, 15 KOs) big time. Davis is unbeaten in 16 career fights, but hasn’t faced the caliber of competition that Haney has.
3. Oleksandr Usyk wants Deontay Wilder for his “last dance”: Usyk vacated three heavyweight titles instead of defending them against the next crop of contenders, but he’s not walking away from the ring just yet. The undefeated heavyweight king is eyeing one final fight in the United States against Wilder, and negotiations are reportedly underway. On paper, it looks like a much easier retirement fight than facing one of the young champions Usyk left behind. Still, this is Wilder we’re talking about, who still has one of the most deadly punches (that straight right hand) in recent boxing history. Usyk would almost certainly enter as a huge favorite, but Wilder’s power offers bettors enough “what if” potential to make this one interesting.
4. Canelo gives up his favorite weekend: For years, Mexican Independence Day weekend belonged to Canelo. Oh, how times have changed. Originally planned for September 12, Canelo’s comeback fight with Christian Mbilli has been pushed all the way until October 31 (yes, Halloween). Canelo is around -300 odds to win, but the bigger story is whether his star is dimming. Coming off a loss and now 36 years old, it feels like Alvarez is no longer a title contender. Of course, all it takes is a big performance against Mbili to make us eat our words.

Boxing line movements in July

As a bettor, there’s a near-unlimited amount of information to guide your picks. Fight styles, tape, recent performances, etc. But want to know arguably the most valuable piece of info? Tracking boxing line movement.

By that, we mean when boxing odds swing wildly, think a favorite becoming an underdog (or vice versa) or an underdog suddenly getting even longer odds to win. These sudden shifts don’t just happen. No, no, usually it means there’s new information (a bad weigh-in, for example) that warrants the updated odds or big money is coming in and bookies have to adjust. That latter typically comes from “sharp” bettors (the professionals).

It’s not always easy to see these big line changes in real time, it’s not like bookies announce these things out loud. And when they do happen, it's not all too common since top boxers only fight once or twice a year anyway. Regardless, we constantly pore over these odd swings, and for your convenience, we’re listing any we’ve seen as of late below:

• Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua odds barely move after AJ’s scare: You’d think getting dropped twice by a massive underdog would completely tank Joshua’s betting odds against Fury. Nope! Fury remains around a -170 favorite, while Joshua is still sitting near +130 — almost exactly where the line was before either man fought in July. We actually think that’s a huge signal for bettors. To us, it says bookies are attributing Joshua’s shaky performance more to ring rust than declining ability. Question is, do you agree with that sentiment or are bookies overlooking this one?

Most-bet boxing betting markets right now

Which bets are drawing the most money and attention right now at this moment? We’ve sourced many bettors and popular online sportsbooks to get this information, and here’s what they’re saying:

• Rolly Romero vs. Teofimo Lopez moneyline: Bettors apparently haven’t forgotten what happened the last time sportsbooks doubted Rolly. Romero (17-2, 13 KOs) cashed as a massive underdog against Ryan Garcia, yet he is right back in that role for his first WBA welterweight title defense. He’s been a popular underdog bet, but not enough to substantially move Lopez’s -260 moneyline. While Lopez is clearly the more accomplished fighter, he is coming off a one-sided defeat against Shakur Stevenson. We wouldn’t be surprised to see this moneyline get more even in the coming weeks based on early action.
• Jaron "Boots" Ennis' next fight: Ennis had a coming-out party in late June when he put down Xander Zayas three times before a seventh-round stoppage. With the statement win, Boots is now a perfect 36-0 (32 KOs) and got a hold of the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles. Who he fights next is getting bettors' attention. Potential candidates include WBC champion Sebastian Fundora or IBF titleholder Josh Kelly, since one would think Boots wants undisputed glory. A dream fight is also available with Vergil Ortiz Jr. Bettors can stake money on any of the three options at popular sportsbooks right now.

Previous boxing news you might’ve missed

• [July 28]: Jake Paul and Eddie Hearn team up in women’s boxing: Paul’s Most Valuable Promotions and Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing have entered a long-term partnership to create more women’s title fights together. These two have talked plenty of trash over the years, but they also promoted the wildly successful Katie Taylor-Amanda Serrano trilogy so the partnership makes a lot of business sense. This should be a net-positive for the women’s side of the sport.
• [July 26]: Errol Spence calls it a career: Three years after Terence Crawford took his undefeated record, his welterweight titles, and seemingly part of his soul, Spence finally returned to the ring against Tim Tszyu. It didn’t go well. Tszyu dominated the former champion across 12 rounds to win by scores of 118-110 and 117-111 twice. Afterward, the 36-year-old Spence announced his retirement with a 28-2 record. There’s nothing to be ashamed about that resume — good luck, champ!
• [July 25]: Stephen Fulton misses weight big time: Fulton was supposed to fight Liam Wilson at 130 pounds in the Spence-Tszyu undercard. It got moved to 133 pounds to accommodate Fulton a week before it was scheduled. Even after that, Fulton missed the new weight by almost 7 pounds. The fight was scrapped entirely, and Fulton’s reputation took another hit (it’s now the second time he’s missed weight).
• [July 9]: Shakur Stevenson signs with Zuffa Boxing: Dana White just landed his biggest boxing free agent yet. Stevenson (25-0 and a world champion in four different weight classes) signed a multi-fight promotional deal with Zuffa fresh off beating Teofimo Lopez in January. This could be a match made in heaven. Stevenson sure isn’t lacking talent, but he is missing the hype, which White and company are famous for. His next fight should be a marquee matchup.

Meet the author

Eric Uribe

Sports betting writer covering regulation, market trends, and industry news. Journalist by trade with a background in sports reporting across Nevada. Focuses on legalization, tax policy, revenue, and betting market developments. Combines betting knowledge with busine...