Filip Hrgovic Has A Golden Opportunity To Prove He Belongs Amongst Elite Heavyweights
There is no better time than now to be an elite heavyweight and for Filip Hrgovic, Saturday night will be his opportunity to propel himself towards the big title shots and even bigger paydays.
Saudi Arabia’s investment in boxing has focused mainly on the heavyweight division so far, allowing the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Oleksandr Usyk to fight each other for world titles while earning eye-watering sums of money.
Among the leading contenders in the next tier down is Hrgovic. The Croatian (17-0-0 14 KO) is the only mandatory challenger in the division at present, holding that status with the IBF, and looks set to be in line for his first world title shot once the governing body strips undisputed champion Usyk.
The Ukrainian, who became undisputed champion earlier this month with a thrilling split-decision victory over Tyson Fury, will lose the IBF strap if he fails to face Hrgovic next. With the rematch with Fury confirmed for December, the belt will soon be vacant, opening the door for Hrgovic to potentially become a world champion.
Yet, the Croatian presents a unique case. While the rest of the fighters near the top of the heavyweight division have all contested challenging bouts, Hrgovic’s record is comparatively light.
Hrgovic Yet To Be Tested
WBO interim champion Joseph Parker, contender Zhilei Zhang, and Saturday’s opponent Daniel Dubois are all in similar positions to Hrgovic in terms of heavyweight standings.
However, all three have competed in top-tier fights; Parker has shared a ring with Joshua, Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder, Joe Joyce, and Andy Ruiz. Zhang completed a double over Joyce and will face Wilder on Saturday. Dubois contested a unified world title fight against Usyk and beat Jarrell Miller in his last outing in December.
By comparison, Hrgovic’s only credible opponent was Zhang, whom he defeated in a competitive unanimous points decision in August 2022. His most recent fight was against Mark De Mori, the Australian who taught himself boxing from YouTube. The Croatian duly cleaned him out within a round.
Hrgovic’s CV does not reflect a fighter operating at the top of the heavyweight standings, which makes his bout with Dubois in Riyadh a potentially career-defining opportunity.
Victory over a strong, athletic, and very capable Dubois will allow Hrgovic the chance to finally prove that he belongs amongst the elites of the division. ‘Dynamite’ is coming off a career-best performance following his 12th-round knockout of Miller. Four months before that, he competed well against Usyk before getting stopped in the ninth round.
Dubois The Perfect Litmus Test
Dubois is therefore the perfect litmus test to understand more about Hrgovic’s true level, which has so far been impossible to gauge because he’s simply not fought enough opponents who could provide worthy challenges.
On the other hand, a defeat – particularly a convincing one – could expose Hrgovic and raise doubts over the legitimacy of his mandatory status.
Hrgovic, of course, will only be focused on success, and should it go the way he envisions, then it will lead to greater and more lucrative opportunities within the thriving heavyweight division.
This will be the fourth time the Croatian has fought in Saudi, so there is no doubt he has been actively involved in the country’s enthusiastic involvement in boxing so far.
Hrgovic Has A Chance To Shine
Yet, all appearances have come on undercards and have thus gone under the radar; he defeated veteran Eric Molina on the undercard of Joshua’s rematch with Ruiz in December 2019, then beat Zhang as part of the Usyk v Joshua 2 event. He most recently secured a one-sided win over De Mori on another Joshua card in December.
A headline bout in Saudi remains elusive. The main event for Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing vs Queensberry Promotions 5-vs-5 card will be Wilder’s showdown with Zhang, while the entire event will be headlined by Dimitry Bivol’s WBA light-heavyweight title defense against Malik Zinad. It was scheduled to be an undisputed bout with Artur Beterbiev only for the unified champion to withdraw due to an untimely injury.
Yet, if Hrgovic can back up his bold claims – the Croatian has consistently vowed to knock out Dubois and boost his world title hopes – then ‘El Animal’ could show that he deserves to be topping bills.
If he achieves that, then the big title fights and massive Saudi paydays will surely beckon.
