Craig Richards vs Radivoje Kalajdzic Preview September 26th, 2026
Two veteran light heavyweights will be battling it out in London, England this Saturday, September 26th as hometown hero Craig Richards is set to meet Radivoje Kalajdzic of Serbia. The 10-round bout can be seen live in most nations on Paramount+ while fans in the UK and Ireland can view it on Sky Sports Main Event. Richards last fought in December when he stopped Dan Azeez in the 12th round for the vacant IBF International Light Heavyweight Title. Kalajdzic last stepped into the ring in February when he halted former world champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the seventh round after getting up from the canvas in the first and fourth rounds.
Richards vs Azeez Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Craig Richards +117
- Radivoje Kalajdzic -150
My Pick
The 36-year-old Richards climbs into the ring with a mark of 20-4-1 with 12 Ko’s and has boxed 162 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a pretty good amateur career. He stands 6-feet-1-inch tall with a 73-inch reach and possesses pretty good power as 65 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last five straight. However, his record is just 5-3-1 in his last nine contests. He may be best remembered for his fine performance in a 12-round unanimous decision loss to Dmitry Bivol in 2021 in a shot at his WBA Super World Light Heavyweight Belt. He also impressed fans against Joshua Buatsi in another 12-round unanimous defeat a year later.
Richards’ first pro loss came at the hands of Frank Buglioni by 12-round unanimous decision for the British Light Heavyweight Title in 2017. His last setback was a 12-round unanimous decision to Willy Hutchinson in a shot at the vacant WBC Silver Light Heavyweight Belt in 2024. His lone draw was an eight-round affair with Chad Sugden in 2019. Richards won the British Southern Area Super Middleweight Crown in 2017 with a 10-round decision win over Alan Higgins and captured the vacant WBA Continental Light Heavyweight Title by stopping Jake Ball in the third round in 2019.
He also won the British Belt in 2020 by stopping Shakan Pitters in the ninth round. Richards took a huge step up in class against Bivol even though he may not have deserved a title shot. He showed he was competitive enough to be a legitimate contender. He owns a solid chin as he’s never been stopped as a pro. Richards can be a handful for any light heavyweight in the world if he’s at his best on fight night but he’s really more of a European-level fighter than a world-class one.
The 35-year-old ‘Hot Rod’ Kalajdzic fights out of Florida. Many fans don’t know much about him even though he was stopped by Artur Beterbiev in the fifth round in 2019 in a shot at the IBF Light Heavyweight Belt. He also lost to former world champion David Morrell via a 12-round unanimous decision in 2024. He owns a record of 30-3 with 22 Ko’s. Kalajdzic has plenty of power as well as 73.3 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage including his last five. He’s also won six of seven fights since his loss to Beterbiev with Morrell being his only defeat in that stretch.
‘Hot Rod’ measures 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 76-inch, so is two inches taller than Richards with a three-inch edge in reach. Kalajdzic and his family fled the Bosnian War in 1992 and ended up in America as refugees in 1998. He turned pro back in 2011 and has boxed 129 rounds since. His first loss came to Marcus Browne in 2016 when he dropped an eight-round split decision for the vacant WBC United States Light Heavyweight Title. Kalajdzic was decked in the very first round but returned the favour by flooring Browne in the sixth stanza. He also has wins over Sullivan Barrera, Otis Griffin, Lionell Thompson and Denis Grachev.
Prediction…
Richards is a solid boxer with a great chin but he has fallen just short when stepping up in class against Bivol, Hutchinson and Buatsi. The same can be said about Kalajdzic though when he fought Beterbiev, Browne and Morrell. Both boxers are past the age of 35 but are still very competitive. Kalajdzic has been dropped to the canvas several times so Richards has the better punch resistance while ‘Hot Rod’ has more power. That makes for an evenly-matched fight and this could come down to pure boxing skills. A draw wouldn’t be a surprise here but if I had to pick a winner I’d go with Kalajdzic as I think he has more experience against world-class opposition.
Kalajdzic’s experience could be the difference.
Play: Kalajdzic -150 @ BetOnline.ag
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Craig Richards betting • Radivoje Kalajdzic betting