# Nikola Stevanović

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.
Nikola Stevanovic has been honoured with Fight of the Year three times: in 2009 against Tshepo Mashego; in 2011 against Stefano Castellucci; and in 2012 against Ayoub Nefzi. He received an award for the best Serbian boxer from 2004 to 2014.
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.
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. 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 | 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. |
Awards and achievements :
| Preceded byGregorz Proksa | IBF Youth Middleweight Champion October 05, 2007 – April 19, 2008 | Succeeded byMax Bursak |
| Preceded bySalvatore Anuziatta | IBF Youth Light Middleweight Champion April 19, 2008 – October 17, 2008 | Succeeded byAdriano Cardarello |
| Preceded byFrank Haroche Horta | IBF International Light Middleweight Champion June 20, 2009 – June 04, 2010 | Succeeded byMoez Fhima |
| Preceded byVincent Vuma | IBF Intercontinental Light Middleweight Champion October 05, 2009 – February 28, 2013 | Succeeded byLenny Bottai |