Filip Hrgovic vs Zhilei Zhang

[margaret thatcher]

i give him a bit of early love. think for 4 rounds or so he will be interesting, because he can punch at least for a few rounds before gassing and hrg blocks with his face. although forrest mauled and exhausted him, those first 3 rounds jerry looked in shock at how hard big z hit him

zhang was just as accomplished in the ams as hrg btw....and the ams still be what hrgovic's rep seems to mostly come from

i think big fill will rough him down and out eventually, but ZZ is dangerous for a bit

[gregregegg]

Zhang makes joe joyce look like garry russle Jr in fastfoward.

[margaret thatcher]

joe joyce is the absolute zero of slowness, what you describe is a theoretical impossibility

[gregregegg]

thats factually incorrect. Bob arum talking is the absolute zero of slowness.

[Frede6]

All this to end with a fight between two barely top 30 contenders . Kudos to IBF for this soap opera.

[oogiebe]

Lol I don’t mind it

To be real, I'll watch it if I don't have to pay for it.

Lol Oogs.... you will break.... in fight week with the hype you'll order it!

Probably!

[joshj909]

I was just thinking about this. If Zhang somehow wins, where do you rank him? Obviously if Hrgovic wins then he's just beat an old, unproven nobody, but if Zhang wins, he's beat someone who many think is destined for the top even if he hasn't proven it yet.

[Enlightened-One]

I was just thinking about this. If Zhang somehow wins, where do you rank him? Obviously if Hrgovic wins then he's just beat an old, unproven nobody, but if Zhang wins, he's beat someone who many think is destined for the top even if he hasn't proven it yet.

If we completely ignored the proverbial “eyeball test”, then it’s really challenging to justify the winner of this bout deserving to be ranked amongst the top-ten heavyweights.

Regardless of who wins this fight, I don’t feel that Hrgovic or Zhang would have done enough to surpass the feats achieved by the following fighters:

• Tyson Fury
• Oleksandr Usyk
• Anthony Joshua
• Deontay Wilder
• Dillian Whyte
• Joseph Parker
• Andy Ruiz Jr.
• Luis Ortiz
• Joe Joyce
• Otto Wallin
• Michael Hunter
• Frank Sanchez
• Dereck Chisora

For the record, I’m not suggesting Hrgovic or Zhang couldn’t beat any of the above names, it’s just that they’ve both been pros for a long time now and neither man has achieved anything noteworthy.

Personally-speaking, I think it’s an absolute disgrace that the winner of this fight is guaranteed to receive a world title shot.

Anyway, I might deem the winner of the Hrgovic-Zhang bout as being top-fifteen worthy, at best.

[daz74]

just watched Kalle in IFL talking about translating the IBF letter to Chinese, really amusing chap Kalle is

[golden_labrador]

joe joyce is the absolute zero of slowness, what you describe is a theoretical impossibility

[golden_labrador]

speaking of Joyce, he'll be too old soon and might never fight any of the top guys. it's all been too slow

[Crease]

Is Hrgovic the most avoided fighter in the division?
Is Zhang just a hype job...
Hope this fight happens...

[Enlightened-One]

Is Hrgovic the most avoided fighter in the division?
Is Zhang just a hype job...
Hope this fight happens...

The answer to both of your questions is “no”.

But the winner of this fight will struggle to justify being considered a top-fifteen world-rated heavyweight.

[bobcatbox]

Personally I can’t wait for this fight. Will either be a fun Hrg victory or a really cool Zhang upset.

[Lackeos]

This is a fine enough fight, as there isn't like a gigantic gap between the rankings of Hrgovic and Zhang. Plus, I've been waiting a long time for Zhang to take a risky fight and lose his undefeated status. Shame that this is a final eliminator, because it barely qualifies as a semi-final eliminator; the winner is gonna be like #15-20. If the winner of this had to fight the winner of like Oscar Rivas and Agit Kabayel in a four-way tournament, then I'd be fine with the winner getting a title shot.

[Dylanc]

I screwed up my vote but I have Filip beating Zhang in a fun contest. Seems like Zhang is older now and not on the same level. Will be fun seeing two undefeated heavys go at it.

[margaret thatcher]

This is a fine enough fight, as there isn't like a gigantic gap between the rankings of Hrgovic and Zhang. Plus, I've been waiting a long time for Zhang to take a risky fight and lose his undefeated status. Shame that this is a final eliminator, because it barely qualifies as a semi-final eliminator; the winner is gonna be like #15-20. If the winner of this had to fight the winner of like Oscar Rivas and Agit Kabayel in a four-way tournament, then I'd be fine with the winner getting a title shot.

ya agree, not like it;s a great fight but i dont mind it at all

[jtourettes]

I think it'll be a great fight while it lasts. Chin check for Hrg.

[ironbeard]

I like this fight. I like both of these big oafs. I honestly think Zhang is a bit underrated and Hrgovic is a bit overrated by some.

Hopefully it isn’t PPV.

[JamesPhilips]

I like this fight. I like both of these big oafs. I honestly think Zhang is a bit underrated and Hrgovic is a bit overrated by some.

Hopefully it isn’t PPV.

Oafs lol true though

[Perkin Warbeck]

Looks like Zhang vs Hrgovic will take place on the same card as a co-feature with Joshua-Usyk II.

https://www.boxen1.com/filip-hrgovic-vs ... est-60712/

[KiwiRider]

Looks like Zhang vs Hrgovic will take place on the same card as a co-feature with Joshua-Usyk II.

https://www.boxen1.com/filip-hrgovic-vs ... est-60712/

Cool, thanks for that Perkie
Good exposure for them, as I'm sure very few people, aside from fans of amateur boxing know who Hrgovic is, and no one knows who Zhang is

[CMCanavessi]

The million dollar question is *when*?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hrgovic-Zhang: Matchroom and Wasserman Win Purse Bid For IBF Title Eliminator

Filip Hrgovic has finally secured that long sought next step to challenging for the heavyweight crown.

An ordered IBF heavyweight title eliminator between Hrgovic and Zhilei Zhang has landed in the hands of Matchroom Boxing and Wasserman Boxing, Hrgovic’s co-promoters who secured promotional rights through a purse bid hearing held Thursday at IBF headquarters in Springfield, New Jersey. The session produces closure to a months-long search for Hrgovic’s next opponent.

Matchroom and Wasserman submitted a joint bid of $650,000, significantly outpacing the next highest bid of $410,000 from Probox Promotions. Croatia’s Hrgovic is entitled to 60% ($390,000) of the winning bid as the higher ranked contender. The remaining 40% ($260,000) will go to Zhang, a two-time Olympian and 2008 Olympic Bronze medalist for China. Matchroom/Wasserman submitted a 10% deposit with its winning amount per purse bid terms and will have to submit another 10% deposit within five business days to validate the terms of the purse bid hearing.

The winner will be named the IBF mandatory challenger to IBF/WBA/WBO/IBO champ Oleksandr Usyk (19-0, 13KOs), who presently awaits a fight date for his contractually bound rematch with former two-time unified titlist Anthony Joshua (24-2, 22KOs).

Hrgovic (14-0, 12KOs) has been on the hunt for more than a year to secure a willing participant for a title eliminator. The 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist for Croatia saw an ordered fight with second-generation heavyweight Michael Hunter II makes its way to a purse bid, which was won by Matchroom Boxing—Hrgovic’s co-promoter along with Wasserman Boxing. Hunter was not motivated by the financial terms of the fight, opting to take his career in a different direction.

Just two fights have followed for Hrgovic in that time, scoring a pair of third-round knockouts over unbeaten but obscure opposition. The hulking 6’6” heavyweight toyed with Montenegro’s Marko Radonjic, scoring five knockdowns in nine minutes of ring time last September in Klagenfurt, Austria. Less than three months later came his latest win, needing just 6:40 to take out Germany-based Serbian heavyweight Emir Ahmatovic last December in Las Vegas. The win extended Hrgovic’s current seven-fight knockout streak, while having yet to be extended past eight rounds.

Zhang (23-0-1, 18KOs) was one of just two heavyweights to accept an invitation from the IBF to enter talks with Hrgovic, with seven other ranked contenders declining the offer due to injury, scheduling conflicts or other reasons. The only other heavyweight to entertain the idea of next facing Hrgovic was Paris’ Tony Yoka (11-0, 9KOs), the 2016 Olympic Gold medalist who owned amateur wins over Hrgovic in the 2015 World Amateur Championships and the semifinal round of the 2016 Rio Olympics. Yoka was removed from the mix, however, after Martin Bakole appealed the move in successfully arguing that he was owed a fight with the unbeaten Frenchman.

Yoka and Bakole were due to fight January 15, with the event postponed due to Covid restrictions. Their fight has been rescheduled for May 14 in Paris.

The bizarre development saw Zhang emerge as the unlikely next foe for Hrgovic, given his placement at number 13 in the IBF heavyweight rankings for a fight he has sought since the pandemic. Zhang and Hrgovic were both on the same November 2020 DAZN card in Hollywood, Florida, both openly discussing the possibility of facing one another under such circumstances.

It’s been a slow road to get them in the ring, though the day draws nearer. Zhang has since fought to a draw with Jerry Forrest in their February 2021 thriller in Miami and scored a second-round knockout of Craig Lewis last November at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater in New York City. Both bouts as well as his appearance on the November 2020 DAZN show all came as part of a co-promotional agreement with Matchroom Boxing.

Zhang’s patience paid off, wading through nine other heavyweights ranked above him who were unable or unwilling to next face Hrgovic.

The winner of the proposed Hrgovic-Zhang title eliminator will become one of three mandatory challengers in waiting for the forthcoming rematch between Usyk and Joshua. Joyce is the current WBO mandatory, while Trevor Bryan (22-0, 15KOs) holds a secondary version of the WBA title which he is required to next defend versus England’s Daniel Dubois (17-1, 16KOs).

[joshj909]

How many heavyweight mandatories have had a worse set of wins than these guys?