Based on
this website's data, the most popular sports by number of fans are as follows:
| 1. | Soccer / Association Football | | 3.5 Billion | | Europe, Africa, Asia, America. |
| 2. | Cricket | | 2.5 Billion | | Asia, Australia, UK. |
| 3. | Basketball | | 2.2 Billion | | America, Europe, Asia, Africa. |
| 4. | Hockey (Field & Ice) | | 2 Billion | | Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia. |
| 5. | Tennis | | 1 Billion | | Europe, Asia, America. |
| 6. | Volleyball | | 900 Million | | Europe, Australia, Asia, America. |
| 7. | Table Tennis | | 850 Million | | Europe, Africa, Asia, America. |
| 8. | Baseball | | 500 Million | | America, Japan. |
| 9. | Golf | | 450 Million | | Europe, Asia, America, Canada. |
| 10. | American Football | | 400 Million | | America, Growing Internationally. |
I'm actually quite surprised not seeing a
Boxing on this top 10 list, but then
this site claims that boxing has over 350 Million fans globally, so I guess it's within the top 11 or 12.
I grew up in a household where Boxing is the most-watched sport, next to Basketball.
Boxing is mostly viewed as a premium sport since, unlike Basketball, where you can just go to any rural town center and you'll see a full-size Basketball court, a Boxing ring is a rare sight.
I remember quite vaguely that we only see boxing matches in our town during the
Fiestas and other similar celebrations like Town Foundation day.
A few years back, when Pacquiao was at his peak, the entire country would literally come to a halt just to watch his live match. That's how big Boxing is in the Philippines.
This is probably why I mostly place bets on Boxing rather than on any sport.
How about you? Which sport do you usually place your bet on and why?
Sources:
https://www.topendsports.com/world/lists/popular-sport/fans.htmhttps://zipdo.co/boxing-popularity-statistics/