Philip will face Daniel Dubois in his next fight
Mandatory challenger for IBF title Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KO) spoke out about the absolute world heavyweight champion, holder of the WBO/WBA/IBF/IBO/WBC belts Alexandra Usika (22-0, 14 KOs).
“As far as I know, the IBF title will be on the line for my fight with Dubois, that’s what I was promised. Usik became a greedy “Belly”. It’s my turn.”
The fight between Hrgovic and Dubois will take place on June 1 in Saudi Arabia. Also as part of a large-scale boxing evening, a fight between Deontay Wilder and Zhang Zhilei will take place.
Dubois knocked out Jarrell Miller in December 2023, and Hrgovic defeated Mark De Mori from Australia by technical knockout in the first round at the same boxing evening in Riyadh.
On the night of May 19, Usik inflicted the first defeat in his professional career on Briton Tyson Fury in a fight that took place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The victory was awarded to Usyk by split decision: 115-112, 113-114 and 114-113.
Usik became the first absolute world heavyweight champion in the era of four belts. In the heavyweight division, the last time Lennox Lewis held absolute status was in 1999, but then three titles were enough for this title.
It was reported that an agreement had been reached between Usyk and Fury for a re-fight. The “Gypsy King” has officially activated the rematch option. The chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Al al-Sheikh, said that the rematch will take place on December 21, 2024.
IBF President Daryl Peoples said that Usyk is obliged to defend his title against official challenger Hrgovic before fighting Fury again. At the same time, the Ukrainian team has already contacted the IBF with a request to postpone the fight with Hrgovic: this decision must be ratified by the organization’s board of directors.
Source: Sportarena
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