Nikola Stevanović

Nikola Stevanović
Никола Стевановић
Born (1987-05-21) May 21, 1987
NationalitySerbian
Other namesJohnny (Џони, Džoni)
Statistics
Weight(s)Light Middleweight
Height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
StanceOrthodox
Boxing record
Total fights27
Wins25
Wins by KO8
Losses1
Draws1

Nikola Stevanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Никола Стевановић; born 21 May 1987, in Belgrade) is a Serbian former professional boxer and a former IBF Intercontinental light middleweight champion.

Professional career

Stevanovic started boxing at age 11. He trained at the boxing club Cukaricki, and then at Partizan with his brother Stefan.

He made his professional debut as a 17-year-old on October 5, 2004 in Belgrade. He defeated Catalin Andrei Tilimpe via a first-round knockout. At 20 years old, Stevanovic defeated Belgian Cedric Charlier on October 5, 2007, and became the IBF World Junior Champion. He successfully defended his title against Georgia's Alexander Benidze on April 19, 2008. In June 2009, he won the vacant IBF International Title after defeating Francesco di Fiore, and in October 2009, he won the Intercontinental IBF Title by beating Tshepo Mashego. On January 24, 2009, Stevanovic lost to Alexander Abraham for the EBU-EE (European External European Union) Light Middleweight Title at the Erdgas Arena, Germany.[1]

Nikola Stevanovic has been honoured with Fight of the Year three times: in 2009 against Tshepo Mashego; in 2011 against Stefano Castellucci; [2] and in 2012 against Ayoub Nefzi.[3] He received an award for the best Serbian boxer from 2004 to 2014.[4]

In November 2012, he was arrested in Greece on suspicion of having participated in an armed robbery in Athens, along with his brother Stefan, as well as another professional boxer named Petar Bajić. Despite having been released and claiming to be preparing for more fights, his career stalled for nine years following the arrest.[5][6]

On July 10th, 2021, Nikola returned to the ring by participating in a boxing show in Lebane called "Svome gradu," defeating Belarusian journeyman Ilya Kharlamau by a 6-round UD.[7][8] He had one more fight in Lebane on July 16, 2022, defeating Georgian journeyman Nikolozi Gviniashvili, also by a 6-round UD. He has not fought since.

Professional boxing record

27 fights 25 wins 1 loss
By knockout 8 0
By decision 17 1
Draws 1
No. Result Record Opponent Type Round, time Date Location Notes
27 Win 25–1-1 Nikolozi Gviniashvili UD 6 2022-07-16 Square, Lebane, Serbia
26 Win 24–1–1 Ilya Kharlamau UD 6 2021-07-10 Square, Lebane, Serbia
25 Win 23–1–1 Ayoub Nefzi UD 12 2012-05-18 Hall of Sports, Belgrade, Serbia Retained IBF Inter-Continental light middleweight title.
24 Win 22–1–1 Stefano Castellucci TKO 11 (12), 1:45 2011-05-20 Sport Hall Sumice, Belgrade, Serbia Retained IBF Inter-Continental light middleweight title.
23 Win 21–1–1 Chris van Heerden SD 12 2010-05-29 Sport Hall Pinki, Belgrade, Serbia Retained IBF Inter-Continental light middleweight title.
22 Win 20–1–1 Marjan Markovic PTS 8 2010-04-03 Sport Hall Pinki, Belgrade, Serbia
21 Win 19–1–1 Tshepo Mashego UD 12 2009-10-05 Sport Hall Banjica, Belgrade, Serbia Won IBF Inter-Continental light middleweight title.
20 Win 18–1–1 Francesco Di Fiore UD 12 2009-06-20 Sport Hall Pinki, Belgrade, Serbia Won vacant IBF International light middleweight title.
19 Win 17–1–1 Mariusz Biskupski TKO 6 (8), 1:20 2009-03-28 Sport Hall Pinki, Belgrade, Serbia
18 Loss 16–1–1 Alexander Abraham UD 12 2009-01-24 Erdgas Arena, Riesa, Germany For EBU-EE (European External European Union) super welterweight title.
17 Win 16–0–1 Nikola Matic TKO 4(6), 3:00 2008-12-26 Hall Spen, Novi Sad, Serbia
16 Win 15–0–1 Joseph Sovijus KO 5 (6) 2008-06-28 Mirosaljci, Belgrade, Serbia
15 Win 14–0–1 Alexander Benidze UD 10 2008-04-19 Sport Hall Banjica, Belgrade, Serbia Won IBF Youth Middleweight title.
14 Win 13–0–1 Thomas Hengstberger KO 2 (6),1:14 2007-11-30 Lagator Hall, Loznica, Serbia
13 Win 12–0–1 Cedric Charlier UD 10 2007-10-05 Hall of Sports, Belgrade, Serbia Won IBF Youth Light-Middleweight title.
12 Draw 11–0–1 Salvatore Annunziata PTS 10 2007-04-25 Portici, Campania, Italy IBF Youth Light-Middleweight title.
11 Win 11–0 Slavomir Merva TKO 1(6) 2007-03-18 Nachtwerk, Vienna, Austria
10 Win 10–0 Rumen Kostov PTS 4 2007-02-17 Hall of Sports, Trstenik, Serbia
9 Win 9–0 Joseph Sovijus PTS 4 2006-10-05 Hall of Sports, Trstenik, Serbia
8 Win 8–0 Patrik Prokopecz TKO 5 (6), 2:08 2006-06-04 Hall of Sports Prijepolje, Prijepolje, Serbia
7 Win 7–0 Hamid Semic PTS 6 2005-11-26 Sporthalle, Steyr, Austria
6 Win 6–0 Igor Krbusik PTS 6 2005-10-05 Hall of Sports, Belgrade, Serbia
5 Win 5–0 Petr Rykala PTS 6 2005-05-21 Sporthalle, St. Valentin, Austria
4 Win 4–0 Jozef Kubovsky PTS 4 2005-04-10 Hall of Sports, Belgrade, Serbia
3 Win 3–0 Krasimir Dimitrov PTS 4 2005-01-23 Hall of Sports, Belgrade, Serbia
2 Win 2–0 Stefan Dimitrov UD 4 2004-11-25 Sky Bar, Belgrade, Serbia
1 Win 1–0 Catalin Tilimpea KO 1 (4) 2004-10-05 Sky Bar, Belgrade, Serbia Stevanovic's professional debut.

References

  1. ^ Abraham Decisions Stevanovic
  2. ^ "IBF Convention: Awards Banquet". Archived from the original on 2012-07-06. Retrieved 2012-10-27.
  3. ^ 2013 IBF awards banquet
  4. ^ "NIKOLA STEVANOVIĆ, BOKSER DECENIJE". Archived from the original on 2014-03-23. Retrieved 2024-08-18.
  5. ^ B. Vukovic (2012-11-17). "Bokserski šampion uhvaćen posle pljačke". Blic (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  6. ^ Antonio Ahel (2012-11-18). "Braća Stevanović: Vratićemo se jači!". ATA Stars (in Serbian). Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  7. ^ "Sinoć u Lebanu održano spektakularno veče profi boksa". Info Centar Juga - informativni portal (in Serbian). 2021-07-11. Retrieved 2025-02-12.
  8. ^ "BOKSERI ,,SVOME GRADU" INTENACIONALNA REVIJA U LEBANU". TV K-1 (in Serbian). 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2025-02-12.