BoxRec

Hrgovic Calls Out Joseph Parker For Joshua-Ngannou Card On March 8th In Saudi

IBF heavyweight mandatory Filip Hrgovic has taken to social media to accept an offer from Joseph Parker to fight him on the undercard of the March 8th Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

To clarify, Parker (34-3, 23 KOs) didn’t offer to fight Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs). He just said that he, Zhilei Zhang, and Joe Joyce are all fighters that he’s interested in fighting in March.

It’ll be up to the Saudis whom Parker fights on the March 8th Joshua-Ngannou, if anyone. Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) would be a better option for Parker because many felt that he was robbed of a victory in his fight with Hrgovic in August 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Zhang knocked Hrgovic down early and dominated him throughout the fight with his power. The judges gave it to Hrgovic, the younger guy, and the one that is being given a big promotional push.

Parker is the hot hang right now following his victory over former WBC heavyweight champion Devontay Wilder on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card on December 23rd. He had Wilder running all night, afraid to throw his powerful right hand and unable to land anything in the fight.

After the fight, Parker said he wanted the biggest match-up possible for his next bout. His promoter said they’d like a rematch with Anthony Joshua, but that’s not going to happen. If Parker wants a rematch with Joshua, the best way to get that is to fight Hrgovic, and defeat him to take his IBF mandatory spot.

“El Animal in the house. I heard Joseph Parker wants to fight me in March on the Joshua-Ngannou undercard. I am very happy to hear that. I am ready. I accept your offer, Joe. Let’s do it. Let’s go, baby. Let’s get down. Let’s get down to business. See you soon,” said Filip Hrgovic on social media, talking about wanting to fight former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker on March 8th on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

This is a tough one. Can see either of them winning by decision or by KO. Parker has the speed, Hrgovic has the boxing skills while both can be open defensively and both carry some but not a lot of KO power. Lots of possibilities.

Winner is surely "best of the rest" for the moment and will be a legitimate challenger for Usyk/Fury but will more likely be elevated to full champion and ultimately face Joshua or Zhang in a unification.

I can see Parker being able to rush Hrg in a similar way he did Wilder, and win a close decision. His win over Wilder was good but with the caveat that Wilder's performance was pretty pathetic, especially with the knowledge that he was miles behind on the cards yet still offered no come forward offense or urgency.

Hrg has the size, range and right hand to trouble Parker if he's able to keep it at distance. However, i've seen glimpses that his mentality might not fully be there when push comes to shove. In the Zhang fight (which now, in hindsight, looks like a pretty good victory, albeit one that could have been a loss) I can remember him turning his back and going for a walk when the going got tough. I think i've seen him do this in another fight, although cannot recall which one?
He'll certainly offer more than Wilder did, but just seems to be lacking in something that would take him to a title.

The Gratest wrote: ↑10 Jan 2024, 07:32 I can see Parker being able to rush Hrg in a similar way he did Wilder, and win a close decision. His win over Wilder was good but with the caveat that Wilder's performance was pretty pathetic, especially with the knowledge that he was miles behind on the cards yet still offered no come forward offense or urgency.

Hrg has the size, range and right hand to trouble Parker if he's able to keep it at distance. However, i've seen glimpses that his mentality might not fully be there when push comes to shove. In the Zhang fight (which now, in hindsight, looks like a pretty good victory, albeit one that could have been a loss) I can remember him turning his back and going for a walk when the going got tough. I think i've seen him do this in another fight, although cannot recall which one?
He'll certainly offer more than Wilder did, but just seems to be lacking in something that would take him to a title.

He lost the Zhang fight IMO and yes he was blowing out of his arse during rounds and turning his back, was not a good look

I'll take Hrgovic if it happens.

Parkers decent but we know his level, he has been flattered by his Wilder win. It proved more to me that Wilder is sh*t than anything else.

I'd take Parker. He has better fundamentals and skills. He is also durable with good stamina.

good fight, could see either winning. parker defo a lot faster though, filip needs to find a way to negate that. hrg is good with the long shots and i believe has a considerable reach advantage, he'd want to use that while still being aggressive

I had Zhang winning by a point but a slightly older Zhang disfigured and flattened Joe Joyce over 2 fights. That is certainly not a result which shows Hrgovic is sh1te. I'd take Hrgovic by a close but clear decision. 116-112 or 117-111 where the rounds are fairly easy to score each way.

Zhang wasn't robbed against Hrgovic IMO.

I had Hrgovic winning fair & square. It was hard work and Filip often looked uninterested & out of sorts, but produced classy punches which had Big bang blowing out of his arse for portions of the fight.

Zhang has that arrogant attitude we see in lots of boxers who think they just have to be standing at the final bell and will automatically be awarded the decision.

Joyce broke Parker down, I don't believe Hrgovic possesses the output or the heart to outlast Parker in a 12 round fight. As has been said fundamentally Parker is the better boxer so on that basis and the fact I doubt either man will stop the other, I think Parker edges it on points

Gran Hermano wrote: ↑11 Jan 2024, 12:34 Joyce broke Parker down, I don't believe Hrgovic possesses the output or the heart to outlast Parker in a 12 round fight. As has been said fundamentally Parker is the better boxer so on that basis and the fact I doubt either man will stop the other, I think Parker edges it on points

Do you think Hrgovic's style of fighting, which relies on landing classy punches, is enough to overcome Parker's superior boxing skills and endurance in a 12-round fight?

The Gratest wrote: ↑10 Jan 2024, 07:32 I can see Parker being able to rush Hrg in a similar way he did Wilder, and win a close decision. His win over Wilder was good but with the caveat that Wilder's performance was pretty pathetic, especially with the knowledge that he was miles behind on the cards yet still offered no come forward offense or urgency.

Hrg has the size, range and right hand to trouble Parker if he's able to keep it at distance. However, i've seen glimpses that his mentality might not fully be there when push comes to shove. In the Zhang fight (which now, in hindsight, looks like a pretty good victory, albeit one that could have been a loss) I can remember him turning his back and going for a walk when the going got tough. I think i've seen him do this in another fight, although cannot recall which one?
He'll certainly offer more than Wilder did, but just seems to be lacking in something that would take him to a title.

No doubt he lost that Zhang fight for me.

I think you have to write off the Wilder fight for Parker. It was an incredibly easy fight. Wilder has very few skills and always relied on one punch and was usually losing fights until it landed.

We've seen now time and time again that Hrgovic doesn't seem to have good timing on his right hand. He spams the punch and is often out of range. I think Parker would have the mobility, defence and agility to deal with that punch but at the rate Hrgovic throws it, some will get through. Parkers chin is solid. Hrgovic showed some stamina issues and if Parker can take it to him, he could win but Parker could also come in with outboxing/moving tactics which would be right up Hrgovics street as he could pace himself. I think we've seen now that one thing you probably should be doing with Hrgovic is making him work at a pace. We saw Lennox do that with Vitali and I couldn't help but think of that Dubois fight as a lower level Lewis vs Vitali. It's not going to be easy for Parker. Hrgovic has a decent volume of punches. With all that said I think I'd still take Hrgovic here. He can win this with his usual style. Parker can try to nick the fight or try to make it a war. Assuming he comes to take ring centre, I still think Hrgovic could throw more and win more.

NazNaci1 wrote: ↑10 Jan 2024, 17:36 I'd take Parker. He has better fundamentals and skills. He is also durable with good stamina.

Yep, Parker for me too for pretty much the same reasons.

parker landslide

The improved Parker outboxes the sluggish Hrgovic.

Love this matchup.
Every fight with Andy Lee, Parker improves and fighting Hrgovic will have its challenges. I'm picking there will be a good plan to get it done, hopefully with a lot less headbutts than DDD.
Parker has established himself as a solid, proven second tier boxer and I'm not sure Hrgovic is.

Also loving this match up. I think Parker wins and surprisingly gets a stoppage.