By Charles Brun: IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic made it clear today that he won’t step aside to allow the winner of Saturday’s fight between IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk & Daniel Dubois to fight somebody else next.
Hrgovic (16-0, 13 KOs) wants his title shot, and if he doesn’t get it, he wants the International Boxing Federation belt to be stripped from the Usyk-Dubois winner.
As Hrgovic points out, there hasn’t been a unification fight between Usyk and WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, as the British fighter has chosen to face non-boxer Francis Ngannou.
Fury clearly and his management don’t want the fight with Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs), which is understandable because the speed, maneuverability, and athleticism of Oleksandr would be a nightmare for the slow, ponderous grappling style the 35-year-old Tyson now depends on to win his fights at this stage of his career.
Hrgovic wants his title shot
“I should be next, yeah, I’m next in line, IBF is next in line, and according to all the rules, I should be next,” said Filip Hrgovic to talkSport Boxing about his deserving a mandatory title shot against the Usyk vs. Dubois, winner of this Saturday’ fight in Poland.
“So, you vacate the titles, or you fight your mandatory. I think that should be the case. Fury is fighting some guy that has never boxed before [Francis Ngannou]. They don’t want to do that.
“So fight you mandatory, I’m not going to step aside. I want to get my shot. I deserve it. I work hard. I’m seventeen years in this sport and want to get my chance,” said Hrgovic.
Understandably, ‘The Gypsy King’ wants no part of Usyk, who aged better and is still fighting like someone in his 20s.
Of course, if the Saudis can come through with big money, Fury could overcome his reluctance to face Usyk. However, Fury could price himself out by asking for a tremendous amount of loot that the Saudis will refuse to pay.
If Fury is given a pot of gold that would last many lifetimes, he’ll gladly agree to the fight with Usyk, but whether the Saudis want to indulge the arguably spoiled Brit is the big question.
Fury won’t be the biggest star on the Joshua-Wilder card, so would be pointless for the Saudis to give him the biggest purse or even the second biggest.
Basically, Fury is just the WBC belt-holder who has an ugly fighting style involving a lot of wrestling, rabbit punching and leaning.
It’s not intestine to watch for many non-Brit fans, who prefer actual fighting rather than the journeyman-esque style that Fury utilizes to win his fights. Would Fury agree to receive less money than Joshua & Wilder to be part of the Saudi’s card? I’d say that’s a big NO.
It would be nice to have Fury fighting Usyk as part of the Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder card in January in Saudi Arabia, but it’s not essential.
Usyk-Hrgovic would be an excellent fight as well, and likely far more entertaining to watch for the boxing world than the ugly grappling that Fury would be doing.
If Usyk is forced to decide on defending his IBF belt against the dangerous 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Hrgovic or vacating it to move on to face an easier option, it will be interesting to see which direction he chooses.
