Fillip Hrgović has told an undefeated heavyweight from America that, should they ever fight, he would ‘eat him for breakfast.’
Hrgović is coming off the back of an unedifying first-round knockout of Mark de Mori. It was one of the early fights on the Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia and, given the mismatch, did little to show fans where Hrgović is at right now.
The Croatian also fought Demsey McKean earlier in the year and won over 12 rounds while his only fight in 2022 was a controversial points win over Zhilei Zhang.
Hrgović remains mandatory challenger for the IBF title which is to be contested by Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk on February 17 when the two come together in the first undisputed heavyweight clash for some 24 years.
It is thought that as soon as that fight is done, the IBF belt will become vacant and that Anthony Joshua might step up to take on Hrgović for belt.
Jared Anderson meanwhile is a much-hyped American prospect who is 24 years old. He has knocked out 15 of his 16 opponents having gone the distance just once with Charles Martin back in July. The big hitter hails from Toledo, Ohio, and has the backing of the Top Rank promotional team, who think he can go all the way.
He is also ranked number 5 with the IBF, so could be facing Hrgovic should Joshua and a couple of other names not be available.
When the man known as ‘Big Baby’ was mentioned as a possible opponent during Hrgović’s post fight-interview on Saturday, the Croatian was not impressed.
“Jared Anderson is for breakfast. For this kid, it’s not smart to fight with me.”
Anderson would surely disagree and it would make for an entertaining fight while it lasted – although he’s more likely to continue his steady rise in the US before jumping in to such a fight.