The prospect of having one undisputed heavyweight champion is tantalisingly close with all the belts currently shared between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, but one towering heavyweight thinks he will be the man to claim all four world titles.
Fury is the man with the most prestigious WBC belt and the lineal title, though next up he will face boxing novice Francis Ngannou in Riyadh on October 6. Meanwhile, Usyk currently holds the WBA, WBO and IBF belts having won them from Anthony Joshua, defended them in a rematch, and then saw off the challenge of Daniel Dubois most recently with a ninth-round knockout out.
Waiting in the wings as the IBF mandatory challenger is 31-year-old Croatian Flip Hrgovic. He has had recent wins over Dempsey McKean and Zhilei Zhang, and maintains at 81% knockout ratio in all 16 of his contests so far. He has stated quite clearly he will not step aside and let Fury and Usyk battle it out for supremacy in the marquee division.
‘El Animal’ has said, however, that he was ready to step in last minute and fight Anthony Joshua when Dillian Whyte failed a drugs test last month, but was never approached, so instead his sights remain fixed on Usyk.
Speaking to IFL TV, Hrgovic was asked if he had a message for the Ukrainian.
“I am thinking about you and we will meet soon. December, January.”
He then reiterated his belief that he will be the one to become undisputed.
“I will beat you. Sorry, I am the man to become undisputed.”
Usyk’s manager has admitted that this fight is indeed on the cards next if the undisputed fight cannot be made, with Eddie Hearn aiming for it to be done in December.