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Earlier today, news broke about the postponement of the undisputed heavyweight title clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk due to a cut above the eye picked up by the Brit while sparring. Now, Filip Hrgovic has offered to step in Fury's stead as a short-notice replacement.
In a social media post, ESPN's Mike Coppinger confirmed that Hrgovic had shown interest in taking the opportunity to stake his claim as Usyk's mandatory:
Hrgovic is a 31-year-old undefeated pugilist out of Croatia with an outstanding record of 17-0 with 14 knockouts. He has claimed the IBF and WBC international titles during his illustrious career.
Equally decorated as an amateur, having claimed bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, he is currently the No.1-ranked contender in the IBF.
According to a report by talkSport, Usyk's team believes it'll be months before the fight against Fury is rescheduled, and as such, the Ukrainian is looking for a replacement for Feb 17. So, it wouldn't be far-fetched to see Hrgovic lace up his gloves against 'The Cat' on two weeks' notice.
Hrgovic holds wins over the likes of the WBO interim world heavyweight champion Zhilei Zhang and IBF inter-continental heavyweight title winner Demsey McKean, among others.
Watch Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang below:
Oleksandr Usyk's manager calls Tyson Fury a "coward"
Boxing's chance to crown an undisputed heavyweight for the first time in the four-belt era came undone with Tyson Fury's injury, and Oleksandr Usyk's manager, Egis Klimas, is fuming.
In a statement given to The Ring, three-time BWAA Manager of the Year held nothing back as he slammed 'The Gypsy King':
"Tyson Fury is a f*****g coward who will do anything not to face Usyk, and he asked his b***h to hit him with a frying pan in his brow. You can quote me word for word for that."
Since beating Anthony Joshua in 2021, Usyk has defended his belts twice. His latest win came in a ninth-round KO against Daniel Dubois last August.
Catch the highlights of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois below:
