Hrgovic Hopes To Clean Out The Heavyweight Division And Retire
Top-ranked heavyweight Filip “El Animal” Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) feels he’s on the verge of greatness. The 31-year-old is ready to chop down anyone in his path to achieve his dream, including Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, or Oleksandr Usyk.
BIG PLANS AHEAD
Hrgovic returns to action on June 1 to face Daniel Dubois at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. With that fight just days away, Hrgovic talked about what he believes are big things in his future during an interview with England’s IFL TV.
“This should be my year. I hope so. Win on Saturday, then go to Wembley and Smash (Anthony) Joshua, then the winner of the Fury – Usyk rematch, and then retire.”
SANCTIONING BODY POLITICS
If Hrgovic takes care of business against Dubois, his promoter, Eddie Hearn, hopes to stage a fight between “El Animal” and Joshua this fall at Wembley Arena in London. That potential fight could be for a world title.
Usyk is the reigning undisputed champion. He will engage in a rematch with Fury in December 2023. However, Hrgovic is the IBF mandatory challenger. According to the IBF rules, Hrgovic is owed his IBF title shot. Usyk has petitioned the IBF to keep the title, but the sanctioning body could end up stripping him. That would make a potential fight between Hrgovic and Joshua for the vacant IBF belt.
HUNGRY TO FACE THE BEST
All Hrgovic cares about is that he gets his moment in the sun. He became the mandatory challenger with a hard-fought unanimous decision win over Zhilei Zhang in August 2022.
The talent of Hrgovic is evident. He is well-schooled and athletic for his size. The 31-year-old also has the kind of explosiveness and punching power to hurt anyone he hits. There’s also the intangible that he’s very motivated. Put those factors together, and you have the ingredients of a very dangerous fighter.
Is Hrgovic good enough to conquer the division’s best? First and foremost, he must overcome Dubois in Saudi Arabia. El Animal feels his time is now and that he can defeat the division’s elite.
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