By Matt Lieberman: IBF heavyweight mandatory Filip Hrgovic says Anthony Joshua should fight him next if he wants to become a three-time world champion.
Although Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs) believes he’ll defeat Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs), he maintains that he needs to face him to keep improving to where he can capture another world title.
The 6’6″ Hrgovic has a good point. Joshua won’t improve if he faces Dillian Whyte next because he’s a step down in competition from his last fight against Jermaine Franklin last Saturday night in London.
According to Hrgovic, Joshua showed “no” improvement in his game under new coach Derrick James and looked “sleepy and slow,” showing no aggression.
Being matched against a short fighter with little punching power, Joshua was given a gimme by his promoter Eddie Hearn and didn’t need to step up his game to win like he would if he fought Hrgovic.
With the way Hearn is talking, it would appear that he’s already decided to match Joshua against Dillian Whyte next in July.
You can’t blame Hearn for not wanting to put Joshua in with a live dog because why would he want to destroy the golden goose laying 24K eggs?
“I destroy him. I think I destroy him. If he comes in this shape, I’ll destroy him,” said Hrgovic to ID Boxing about Anthony Joshua.
“My boxing skill, my chin, my speed, my power, everything,” on why he thinks he’ll beat Joshua.
“I expected more. He was too cautious and didn’t let his hands go,” said Hrgovic about Joshua’s performance against Jermaine Franklin last Saturday night in the ‘New Dawn’ card in London.
“It was a decent performance, but he needs more fights to get back into real shape. Obviously, there was big pressure on his back, but people expected to see more from the ex-two-time world champion.
“No, he didn’t throw a lot of punches, and he was sleepy,” Hrgovic said when asked if he saw improvement in Joshua. “He was not so aggressive like I expected. It was a comeback fight. You should be more hungry.
“If he wants to be champion again, I think I’m the way for him to be a three-time world champion. I’m the IBF mandatory, and he’s ranked in the IBF rankings. He should fight me next and challenge again world champion.
“My boxing skills, my chin, my speed, my power, everything,” said Hrgovic when asked what makes him so confident of beating Joshua.
