Yarde should obliterate mismatched champion

WBO European light-heavyweight title
BT Sport 1 & BoxNation, from 7pm Saturday

Big-punching light-heavyweight Anthony Yarde is a huge favourite to win the European title against Hungary's Richard Baranyi when they clash at the Copper Box Arena in London, and it's hard to see anything other than a knockout win for the home fighter.

The Beast is on nine-fight KO streak and despite Baranyi's 18-1 record looking decent at first glance, closer inspection points to him being well out of his depth.

Baranyi has never fought outside Hungary and none of his opponents have had much pedigree. He was stopped in four rounds in 2015 by a fighter who had won just three of ten fights, and that does not bode well against a wrecking machine such as Yarde.

Bookmakers agree, however, with some going just 1-10 that Yarde wins inside the ten-round distance, and you can get odds-against that it goes beyond 4.5 rounds. But this could be over in the blink of an eye and the tip is for Yarde to win in the first round.

That may seem like a bold prediction, but consider this: in Yarde's last nine fights he has has six first-round wins and two in the second. His last fight went four rounds against against Chris Hobbs for the Southern Area title, but Hobbs was down once in the first, twice in the third and three times in the fourth.

Yarde hits hard and likes to get the job done early.

On the undercard, Bradley Skeete can with the British welterweight-title outright by beating Dale Evans.

Skeete is one of the most underrated fighters on the domestic scene and and should have too much for Evans, although the challenger could take some shifting.

Evans has fought at a decent standard for a few years but has been stopped only once, and took Sam Eggington 12 rounds in 2015. Three of Skeete's last five fights have gone to points, and despite Skeete being just 1-2 to win by stoppage he may have to settle for a win on the scorecards.

Recommendations
A Yarde to win in round one
1pt 5-1 general
B Skeete on points
1pt 9-4 general