Marko Nikolic vs Anthony Yarde Preview February 10th, 2024
Anthony Yarde returns to the ring in his hometown of London, England this Saturday, February 10th to take on Marko Nikolic of Belgrade, Serbia. The 10-round light heavyweight battle can be seen live in the UK on TNT Sport 1 while fans in America can see it on ESPN+. Yarde last fought in September when he stopped Jorge Silva in the second round. Nikolic beat Darko Stevanovic by an eight round unanimous decision in his last outing in November to capture the vacant Serbian Light Heavyweight Belt.
Nikolic vs Yarde Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Marko Nikolic +1400
- Anthony Yarde -4000
My Pick
The 32-year-old Yarde climbs into the ring with a mark of 24-3 with 23 Ko’s and has boxed 100 rounds since turning pro back in 2015. He stands 6-feet tall with a 72-inch reach and carries very impressive power in his fists as 95.6 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. The only time he went the distance to earn a victory was in 2015 in his second pro fight when he beat Stanislavs Makarenko on points over four rounds.
Yarde fought a steady diet of limited opponents until facing Sergey Kovalev in 2019 for a shot at the WBO Light Heavyweight Belt. He had Kovalev in serious trouble but was eventually stopped in the 11thround for his first pro loss. He then he dropped a 12-round split decision to Lyndon Arthur in December 2020 to lose his Commonwealth and WBO Inter-Continental Light Heavyweight Titles but stopped Arthur in the fourth round a year later to regain those belts.
His third pro defeat also came by stoppage when IBF/WBO/WBC Champion Artur Beterbiev halted him in an eight-round slugfest in January, 2023. He bounced back eight months later with the early knockout win over Jorge Silva in his most recent fight. Yarde has always been a power puncher as he reportedly went 11-1 with 11 Ko’s as an amateur and that power has carried over to the pro ranks.
Since turning pro, Yarde has also captured the English Southern Area and and WBO European Light Heavyweight Titles and defended the WBO Inter-Continental Crown five times before losing to Arthur. He’s also beaten Walter Gabriel Sequeira, Dariusz Zek, Doc Spelman Tony Averlant, Nikola Sjekloca, Norbert Nemesapati, Richard Baranyi and Ferenc Albert. In total, he’s gone the distance just twice in his 27 pro fights.
Nikolic is a 34-year-old who has boxed 181 rounds since turning pro back in 2013 following a decent amateur career. As a pro he carries around a mark of 32-3 with 12 Ko’s. He measures 6-feet-2-inches tall with an unlisted reach so has a two-inch height advantage on Yarde. Nikolic lacks power though as just 37.5 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and he’s gone eight fights now without one and has gone 5-3 over that stretch.
His defeats came at the hands of Sergei Gorokhov by 10th-round TKO in April, 2021 in a shot at the vacant WBC International Silver Super Middleweight Title; to Ivan Zucco by second-round KO a year later fir the vacant WBC International Super Middleweight Belt and to Bernardin Jakaj by a wide 10-round unanimous decision last March.
Since turning pro Nikolic has also won the vacant WBC Mediterranean Light Heavyweight Title in 2019. He’s taking a step up in class this weekend as his biggest wins so far have been against the likes of Djordje Markovic, Adriano Sperandio, Patrick Bois, Milos Janjanin and Mikheil Khutsisvili. In addition, just 11 of his 35 opponents have entered the ring with a winning record and he’s gone 8-3 in those contests.
Prediction…
It’s reasonable to believe this fight won’t be going the distance as both fighters have been stopped twice and Yarde has recorded 23 of his 24 wins by stoppage. He should be taking on stiffer competition at this stage of his career though if he hopes to earn another shot at a world title. I’m expecting Nikolic to put up some resistance for a couple of rounds but for Yarde to eventually walk though and stop him, making Yarde by stoppage as the only sensible option here.
Yarde’s power should do the trick.
Play Yarde -4000 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Anthony Yarde betting • Marko Nikolic betting