Anthony Joshua will have a chance to size up one of his key critics, Filip Hrgovic, next month. The Croatian boxer who has previously ridiculed ‘AJ’ for being ‘soft’ and ‘chinny’ has reportedly been added to the undercard of Joshua-Oleksandr Usyk II on August 20.
According to reports from Dan Rafael, Hrgovic’s delayed IBF final eliminator bout against Zhang Zheili will take place on the ‘Rage on the Red Sea’ undercard at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The pair were originally set to face each other in May, however, Hrgovic withdrew after the death of his father leading up to the bout.
The winner of the contest will become the IBF mandatory challenger, putting them in line for a shot at the winner of the main event with Usyk and Joshua competing for the WBA (super), WBO, and IBF heavyweight titles on the same night.
Hrgovic is currently 14-0 as a professional with 12 wins by way of knockout. Before turning over, ‘El Animal’ was a 2016 Olympic super heavyweight bronze medallist and has beaten the likes of Joseph Parker and Sergey Kuzmin in the past. The Croatian puncher is coming off a third-round knockout of Emir Ahmatovic in December 2021 and is currently ranked inside the Ring Magazine divisional top 10.
His opponent, Zhang, is also an undefeated professional with a credentialed amateur pedigree. The Chinese heavyweight is 24-0-1 in the paid ranks with 19 knockout wins. At 39, there isn’t much time left for the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, so a win in August is crucial. In his last fight, he knocked out Scott Alexander in the first round – who replaced Hrgovic in May.
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