The Croatian claims a fight with the Ukrainian
Mandatory challenger for IBF heavyweight title Filip Hrgovic stated that the WBC title holder Tyson Fury does not want to hold a unification fight against the WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO title holder Alexandra Usika.
“This is a completely disrespectful attitude towards boxing, towards everyone. It’s obvious that Fury doesn’t want this unification. And I don’t want anyone to tell me about the unification fight. It’s clear that Fury doesn’t want him. They had a lot of time to arrange unification, but they did not want to do it. Perhaps they are both afraid of losing their perfect track record. So I don’t care about that.
They showed a huge disrespect for boxing and the fans. I should be next. I just want to tell them to follow the rules and fight the mandatory challengers. I’m next in line. There will be no compensation, nothing will stop me from getting my well-deserved chance,” said Hrgovic.
The Ukrainian champion wants to fight his next fight against Tyson Fury, but Hrgovic is determined to exercise his right as a mandatory challenger. According to promoter Eddie Hearn, the fight could take place in December.
Usyk challenged Fury to a fight after successfully defending his WBA/WBO/IBO/IBF titles against Daniel Dubois. Negotiations between the parties continue, and January 27, 2024 is called a potential date for the unification battle.
Usik’s promoter Alexander Krasyuk previously said that his team is ready to obey IBF rules and fight against Hrgovic, but he noted that the Croatian is not particularly popular, so he is not very interesting in commercial and media terms as an opponent of the Ukrainian champion.
Hrgovic, in his last fight, defeated Australian Demsey McKean at a boxing evening in London at the O2 Arena. The Croatian retained his mandatory challenger status for the IBF heavyweight title, which he achieved last August by defeating Zhang Zhilei.
Source: Sportarena
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
