Filip Hrgovic predicts that he’ll win the IBF heavyweight title in 2024, will be the “King of the division,” and hold his belt for the next five years. It’s a bold claim for the 6’6″ Hrgovic, given his last two abysmal performances against Demsey McKean and Zhilei Zhang.
Hrgovic (16-0, 13 KOs) says the top fighters Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury & Oleksandr Usyk are all “close to the end” with just a few fights left in them, and he’ll step in and carry the division for five years.
Some boxing fans would think that the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Hrgovic is hopelessly deluded, as many felt he deserved a loss to Zhilei Zhang last year, winning a controversial decision in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
In Hrgovic’s last fight, he struggled before stopping Dempsey McKean with a twelfth round knockout in August.
#1 IBF-ranked Hrgovic will be fighting this Saturday, December 23rd, against 41-year-old Mark De Mori (41-2-2, 36 KOs) on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
For the King in waiting to take on this level of fighter, it’s confusing. Surely, the heir to the throne is capable of fighting a better heavyweight than De Mori.
Hrgovic poised for title shot
This is another gimme opponent for the 31-year-old Hrgovic, who is going backward with his career since his close call against Zhang.
You can argue that Hrgovic’s promoters don’t want to take chances with him after the way he struggled against Zhang, so they’ll play it safe with him until he gets his mandated title shot for the IBF belt.
“For me, the best time is coming. I waited long for this, and on Saturday, with God’s help, I win this fight, and big fights are here,” said Filip Hrgovic to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, talking ahead of his bout against 41-year-old Mark De Mori on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia.
“I’m the IBF mandatory challenger, and the IBF has already confirmed that I’ll fight for a world title against the winner of Fury & Usyk. If they go for a rematch, then they’ll need to vacate the title, and I’ll fight the next best ranked [contender] on the IBF’s list. That could be the winner of the Joshua-Wallin fight,” said Hrgovic.
It’s good that Hrgovic is ambitious, but he’s got to up his game because he looked awful against McKean & Zhang. The finishing punches that Hrgovic landed against McKean were rabbit shots to the back of his head in the twelfth round, which the referee, for some reason, failed to spot.
Filip ready to be crowned King
“Now we see that Joshua & Wilder are going to fight in March,” said Hrgovic. “That news came a few days ago. I like the fact that Saudi Arabia wants to make all these big fights. They want everyone to fight everyone. No more avoiding. I’m glad they believe in me, and I feel like I’m the future.
“I feel like I’ll win a world title next year, and I’ll keep it for the next five years, and I’ll be the King of the heavyweight division. You have this great generation of Wilder, Joshua, Usyk, and Fury, but I think they’re all close to the end.”
The real question is, why did Hrgovic limit his bold prediction to being King for five years? He might as well have gone for ten. If you’re going to be over the top with the predictions, go the whole hog with something really crazy.
At best, Hrgovic will capture the IBF belt when it’s vacated or stripped from the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk winner. Those two are expected to have a rematch, and the winner will give up the IBF belt.
Hrgovic will then fight the highest-ranked available contender in the IBF’s rankings for the vacant belt.
“They have a few fights left each one of them, so I think I’ll rule the division for the next five years. That’s my goal, and I believe in that, and I’m looking forward to a world title shot for all the big fights,” said Hrgovic.
