Fury given lifeline as Gypsy King offered fight with Hrgovic

Tyson Fury may have his wish fulfilled of fighting a top-rated heavyweight in September. Eddie Hearn has offered Fury a fight with No10 ranked (Ring Magazine) heavyweight Filip Hrgovic in the summer.

Fury is running out of options for a competitive matchup in such a narrow timescale. Discussions for the undisputed fight with Oleksandr Usyk collapsed earlier this year over the purse split for the rematch.

Meanwhile, recent attempts to coerce Anthony Joshua into a fight have failed as well. Joshua is expected to box Dillian Whyte in August before a blockbuster showdown with Deontay Wilder four months later – plans which were well-documented when Fury made his approach.

The Gypsy King also opened talks with Zhang Zhilei and Andy Ruiz Jr although the former is already tied up with a rematch against Joe Joyce while Fury alleges Ruiz Jr priced himself out of negotiations.

The only options that are logically available to Fury within the divisions’ top 10 are Luis Ortiz (No8) and Hrgovic (No10). The latter of which is represented by Hearn who says he would happily set up the fight.

“Say you’re playing matchmaker for Tyson Fury, and you look at the rankings,” he told Boxing Social. “Imagine ‘AJ’ fights Dillian Whyte then Wilder and Usyk fights Dubois. I’ll tell you if he wants, he can fight Filip Hrgovic.

“If he’s looking for an opponent, he can have the Filip Hrgovic fight. Tyson Fury is smart, he doesn’t want a risky fight. Hrgovic is mandatory for the IBF, but Tyson will say ‘I’m not fighting him, nobody’s heard of Hrgovic!” But there will always be a line’.”

Hrgovic is ranked No1 by the IBF and is next in line behind Daniel Dubois to face unified heavyweight champion Usyk (WBA ‘super’, IBF and WBO). The Croatian puncher hasn’t fought since his razor-close decision win over Zhang in August of last year and is currently without an upcoming matchup.