Anthony Joshua is a man in demand at the minute, with several fighters calling for a clash against the former unified heavyweight champion.
Tyson Fury was the latest, offering his domestic rival a shot at his WBC belt in September at Wembley Stadium.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, confirmed they are preparing to fight Dillian Whyte on August 12 and then go into a mega fight against Deontay Wilder in December.
Negotiations for the Whyte rematch have begun, with Hearn revealing an offer has been sent but the deal is ‘not close’ and, although ‘The Body Snatcher’ is their preferred opponent, there are other options available.
One of those options could be Filip Hrgovic, who is the number one ranked heavyweight with the IBF and also happens to be co-promoted by Hearn.
From recent comments, it’s fair to say the Croatian would be more than confident going into bout against Joshua.
After ‘AJ’s last outing against Jermaine Franklin, which didn’t produce the statement knockout many felt was needed, Hrgovic told Boxing News that he would ‘destroy’ the Brit.
“I’ll destroy him. I think I’ll destroy him.
If he comes in this shape – I’ll destroy him.”
On the performance itself Hrgovic said he expected more and that ‘AJ’ should fight him next if he wants to be champion again.
“I expected more. I thought he was going to knock him out, but he was too cautious and he didn’t let his hands go. It was a decent performance but nothing spectacular. He needs more fights to get back into real shape. People expect to see more from the former two-time champion.
He was a little bit slow and little bit sleepy, not aggressive like I expected. If he wants to become champion again then I’m his way, I’m IBF mandatory and he should fight me next.”
Hrgovic admits he’s coming off a poor performance himself in his last fight, edging out Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang with many fans feeling he was fortunate to get the decision.