BeatBoxing
The Vinyl Round
At Online Gambling, we’ve analysed the walk out songs for 50 of the world’s best boxers, past and present, to see how BPM affects the result of a fight. Find out which genre is the most popular, if heavier fighters really like heavier music and what the most successful song is in boxing!
WHAT IS BPM?
“Beats per minute” (or BPM) is self-explanatory: it indicates the number of beats in one minute. For instance, a tempo notated as 60 BPM would mean that a beat sounds exactly once per second. A 120 BPM tempo would be twice as fast, with two beats per second.
Top Boxers’ Average BPM
| Name | Nationality | Favourite BPM (Average) | Favourite Genre | Fighting Style | Wins | Loses | Draw |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Muhammad Ali |
|
79 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul & Other | Orthodox | 56 | 5 | 0 |
| Floyd Joy Mayweather Jr. |
|
149 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul & Pop | Orthodox | 50 | 0 | 0 |
| Manny Pacquiao |
|
107 | Rock | Southpaw | 62 | 7 | 2 |
| Mike Tyson |
|
93 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | Orthodox | 50 | 6 | 0 |
| Gennady Golovkin |
|
124 | Rock | Orthodox | 40 | 1 | 1 |
| Canelo Álvarez |
|
146 | Latin American | Orthodox | 53 | 1 | 2 |
| Wladimir Klitschko |
|
115 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul & Rock | Orthodox | 64 | 5 | 0 |
| Anthony Joshua |
|
144 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul & Other | Orthodox | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| Deontay Wilder |
|
129 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul & Other | Orthodox | 42 | 1 | 1 |
| Tyson Fury |
|
117 | Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | Orthodox | 30 | 0 | 1 |
*Taken from last three fights
Which genres have the highest win rate?
Unless you’re Mike Tyson, who opted for the sound of clanging chains and nothing else in the build-up to his fight against Michael Spinks, you’ll likely choose a song from a popular genre. Here’s their success rate to help you choose.
Favourite BPM by Weight Class
| Heavyweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
|---|---|---|
| 90 or Lower | 8 | 17% |
| Between 111 and 130 | 15 | 32% |
| Between 131 and 150 | 2 | 4% |
| Between 91 and 110 | 11 | 23% |
| Faster than 150 | 11 | 23% |
| Middleweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| 90 or Lower | 4 | 13% |
| Between 111 and 130 | 5 | 17% |
| Between 131 and 150 | 8 | 27% |
| Between 91 and 110 | 10 | 33% |
| Faster than 150 | 3 | 10% |
| Welterweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| 90 or Lower | 1 | 4% |
| Between 111 and 130 | 6 | 25% |
| Between 131 and 150 | 7 | 29% |
| Between 91 and 110 | 8 | 33% |
| Faster than 150 | 2 | 8% |
| Featherweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| 90 or Lower | 3 | 20% |
| Between 111 and 130 | 3 | 20% |
| Between 131 and 150 | 7 | 47% |
| Between 91 and 110 | 2 | 13% |
| Lightweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| 90 or Lower | 1 | 11% |
| Between 111 and 130 | 1 | 11% |
| Between 131 and 150 | 3 | 33% |
| Between 91 and 110 | 4 | 44% |
| SuperBantamweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| Between 131 and 150 | 6 | 100% |
| Cruiserweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| Between 111 and 130 | 3 | 100% |
| Light Heavyweight | Count of BPM | Top BPM % |
| Between 91 and 110 | 3 | 100% |
Favourite Genre by Weight Class
| Heavyweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
|---|---|---|
| Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | 16 | 33% |
| Pop | 11 | 23% |
| Rock | 9 | 19% |
| Other | 8 | 17% |
| Reggae | 3 | 6% |
| Latin American | 1 | 2% |
| Middleweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | 12 | 36% |
| Rock | 10 | 30% |
| Pop | 3 | 9% |
| Latin American | 3 | 9% |
| Reggae | 3 | 9% |
| Other | 2 | 6% |
| Welterweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | 16 | 53% |
| Latin American | 8 | 27% |
| Rock | 3 | 10% |
| Pop | 2 | 7% |
| Other | 1 | 3% |
| FEATHERweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Rock | 6 | 40% |
| Latin American | 6 | 40% |
| Reggae | 2 | 13% |
| Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | 1 | 7% |
| lightweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Rock | 6 | 50% |
| Other | 3 | 25% |
| Pop | 3 | 25% |
| SuperBantamweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Latin American | 6 | 100% |
| Cruiserweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Other | 3 | 100% |
| Light Heavyweight | Count of Song Genre | Win % |
| Hip-Hop/Rap/R&B Soul | 3 | 100% |