Former trainer Teddy Atlas believes Anthony Joshua will make easy work of Filip Hrgovic if the two fight next in March for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.
Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) defeated Otto Wallin last weekend, stopping the out-of-shape-looking Swedish fighter in the sixth round on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Is Hrgovic being underestimated?
Atlas might be giving Joshua too much credit to assume that he can defeat Hrgogic, as he actually has talent, power, and ability.
Joshua hasn’t fought a live body since his loss to Oleksandr Usyk last year, and we all remember the mental meltdown AJ had in the ring after that.
Eddie Hearn has done a good job of feeding Joshua the right opponents, selected from the bottom, making his impressionable fans believe he’s 100% new, better than before, and capable of beating anyone in the division. It’s actually hilarious to note how easily taken in Joshua’s fans are.
“Hrgovic is the #1 contender [with the IBF], he’s undefeated. I thought he lost to the Chinese fighter [Zhilei Zhang]. I don’t think that much of Hrgovic; I think Joshua takes him apart,” former trainer Teddy Atlas said on his YouTube channel.
“Hrgovic was supposed to be promised the winner of Fury and Usyk, but it would be easier to get him to fight Joshua because you can’t make more money than you can against Joshua.”
AJ’s fans believe that he can now walk on water and is invincible after beating Wallin, who looked something awful, far worse than Joshua’s two previous confidence-boosters, Robert Helenius and Jermaine Franklin.
The victory for the 34-year-old Joshua was his third consecutive since his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022, and his fans believe that he’s fully back, the fighter that he once was in the zenith of his career, thanks to the help of his new trainer Ben Davison.
Atlas says he doesn’t think much of #1 IBF Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) after watching him win a controversial decision over Zhilei Zhang last year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He figures that Joshua will destroy the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Hrgovic without any problems if they meet up.
“If Fury wins that fight [against Usyk], AJ-Fury, they get $50 to 100 million each, I think, in Wembley,” said Ken Rideout.
“Yeah, here’s the thing. Hrgovic was promised the winner of Fury & Usyk,” said Atlas. “They can do anything. They control the organization. They can get Hrgovic to fight Joshua. If he fights Joshua, he’s like Canelo.
“Between him [Joshua] and Fury, they’re the biggest money-makers in the heavyweight division. Hrgovic can make more more fighting Joshua.”
