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Sergey Kovalev is the favorite this Saturday, but not by much. Get the odds for Kovalev vs. Yarde here.
Boxing’s marquee fight for the weekend takes us to the Light Heavyweight division, where former (and maybe current?) king Sergey Kovalev is back in action. His opponent: UK fighter Anthony Yarde, taking his first fight on the big international stage. Here are the latest odds courtesy of OddsShark:
Sergey Kovalev -160
Anthony Yarde +130
Interesting odds there for sure. At 33-3-1, Kovalev is by far the more decorated fighter. He’s been the champ, seen the very top of the division. But twice in the past few years we have asked if he was done – first after the 2nd Andre Ward loss, then after the Eleider Alvarez loss a year ago. Both times he has come back and won, proving that there’s more left. He’s now generally ranked either #1 or #2 in the division depending on how highly you regard Oleksandr Gvozdyk. Yarde meanwhile is a 4 year pro with impressive KO power who is taking a big step up here, and he’s doing it in Russia. So this is a tough one. Maybe Yarde really does have all the tools and shows it by putting the aging Kovalev down and out. Or maybe Kovalev is a step too high, a fighter not yet shot enough to let this younger fighter take his spot. Certainly an interesting one to see play out.
Join us here at Bloody Elbow Saturday for Kovalev vs. Yarde, live on ESPN+. The show is live from Russia, so has a daytime start time here in the US of 12:30 p.m. ET.