JonnyKupfer wrote: β30 Aug 2026, 16:33
Hrgovic only has 3/4 notable fights, because he was avoided throughout his career. Strong contender with lack of marketability. So his only path to a championship was the IBF, the only org that will really enforce mandatories.
His only loss was to Dubois. And he won 4 out of 7 rounds on the scorecards before the doctor stopped it because of a cut DDD gave him with a headbutt. After that Dubois got promoted from interim to full champion, lost to Usyk and became champion again afterwards. So his only loss was controversial und aged well.
His war with Zhang was his biggest win and aged good aswell, with Zhang becoming interim champ afterwards.
This Itauma win will age well for shure. Only Joyce was already washed when he faced him.
Filip was always underrated from lack of notable fights. But I would always keep him on a similar rank as Dubois and Parker. Yesterday he proved that and now with a belt around his waist, there is finally a motivation for other contenders and champions to fight him.
Agreed
JonnyKupfer wrote: β30 Aug 2026, 11:27
Hrgovic to #4
Itauma stays #11
And agreed.
I actually picked Hrgovic to win by KO, as I thought his chin would allow him to take Itauma into deep waters. Plus the added motivation of it being a world title made him a dark horse for this one. I was not confident about the appointment of Howard Foster, though (who hats off had a solid refereeing performance)
BUT I didn't expect large portions of the fight to be so one sided. Moses actually really impressed me to that degree, but its no good if you are only a 6 round fighter. He really needs to sort out his pacing and stamina. His corner really needs to be able to tell him well in advance to slow it down. Throwing bombs (in high volume) until you drop is not any kind of strategy. Even so, there are few in our top 15 that I would feel confident have the physical attributes to weather the storm like Hrgovic did.
Hrgovic #4 (just behind Dubois)
Was delighted for him. Even though I'm a Brit, I leapt out my chair when he won.
Moses #11
Honestly, I think he justified top 10, but at the end of the day, he lost.