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Eddie Hearn believes there could be a silver lining to Filip Hrgovic’s somewhat disappointing performance in his last fight.
Hrgovic, the highly regarded Croatian heavyweight contender, was able to defeat China’s Zhilei Zhang last month on the Oleksandr Uysk vs. Anthony Joshua (WBO, WBA, IBF) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, but many observers were in conflict with the verdict, with not a few saying that Zhang deserved to have his hands raised.
The win turned out to be somewhat of a disappointment for Hrgovic, who had previously been regarded in some circles as one of the most avoided fighters in the sport. Fighter after fighter has pulled out of an IBF elimination fight involving Hrgovic, including Joseph Parker and Luis Ortiz. It was Zhang (24-1-1, 19 KOs) who finally decided to answer the bell against Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs).
Hearn, who co-promotes Hrgovic with Nisse and Kalle Sauerland, said he believes his role’s lackluster performance may turn into a blessing in disguise, that more top contenders will be open to fighting the Croat now that they’ve seen him in one place. much less intimidating. form.
“I don’t think Hrgovic boxed that well,” Hearn acknowledged on The DAZN Boxing Show. “Unfortunately, his father passed away recently. I don’t know if that affected his camp. But Zhang is underrated. He is a good fighter. He is a huge, huge guy. He weighed 126 kilos before that fight.
“I value Filip Hrgovic. I think he is an exceptional fighter. And, you know, like our co-promoters Nisse and Kalle Sauerland said, maybe people want to fight him now. Because they never wanted to fight him before. Trust me. They never wanted to fight him.”
Controversial or not, with Zhang’s victory behind him, Hrgovic has now put himself in position to be the mandatory challenger for the IBF heavyweight crown, which is currently held by Ukraine’s Usyk, who also holds the heavyweight titles. the WBA and the WBO. Usyk retained his belt with a split decision win over Joshua in their 12-round rematch.
Hearn said he expects Hrgovic to challenge for the IBF title in as few as “two fights.”
“Filip Hrgovic is now Oleksandr Usyk’s mandatory challenger,” Hearn said. “When that IBF Ferris wheel returns, which is probably two fights from now, he will have one more fight and then wait for a world heavyweight title shot. And he will be much better next time.”
