FilipHrgovic
Former IBF & WBC International Heavyweight Champion
Filip Hrgovic is known as ‘El Animal’ and this animal in particular, for large portions of his career, has found himself caged.
The 32-year-old has long been banging at the door to remove himself from the heavyweight waiting room, ready to prove he has taken the leap from hot prospect to the real deal.
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WINS
18
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LOSES
1
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DRAW
0
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kOs
14
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WEIGHT
245 lbs
(111 Kg) -
HEIGHT
6’6”
(198 cm) -
REACH
82”
(208 cm)
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Trainer
Ronnie Shields
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Born
4 June 1992
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Born in
Zagreb, Croatia
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nation
Croatian
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residence
Zagreb, Croatia
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KO Percentage
77.78%
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Stance
Orthodox
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Rounds
82
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Debut
30 September 2017
Hunt for World Title
The new Queensberry signing is now set to be released from his cage to take on former amateur rival Joe Joyce at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester on April 5.
The heavyweight story of the Croatian hasn’t been a fast-paced movie and it has struggled, at times, to retain the attention of boxing viewers and the wider public.
He probably didn’t live up to expectations in his IBF final eliminator against Zhilei Zhang, which many believe he was extremely fortunate to be declared winner, but despite holding a lofty ranking position, he was still made to play the waiting game.
His fortunes turned when Riyadh called and he took his place on the Day of Reckoning card in December 2023. The invitation to come to the Kingdom, by definition, placed Hrgovic where he wanted to be. Sitting right alongside the big guns of the division and right in the mix for the big fights Riyadh delivers.
His opening assignment was not one that would place his ranking at risk and Mark De Mori was quickly accounted for in less than two minutes, but Hrgovic had put his marker down and he would be back.
His chance for a Riyadh return, came as a Matchroom pick in the 5 vs 5 against Queensberry, where he would take on Daniel Dubois with the IBF Interim world title at stake.
Early Career
Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) is a 2016 Olympian and veteran of 30 appearances in the World Series of Boxing. The Croatian was also gold medallist at the 2010 World Youth Championships in Baku, where he defeated Joseph Parker and 2016 Olympic champion Tony Yoka. In 2015 he became European Amateur champion.
Hrgovic turned professional in 2017 and won the WBC International title the following year with a third round victory over Amir Mansour and went on to make three successful defences of the belt. In 2020 he became IBF International champion by overcoming Rydell Booker in five rounds and made two victorious defences before taking on Zhang in a final eliminator for the full IBF title.
Signing for Queensberry
Now he is back in the running and a victory over Joyce in
Manchester will provide a perfect showcase for him to prove he remains a heavyweight force to be reckoned with.
Hrgovic vs Dubois
Dubois, a young star of the division, was not favourite in the fight. These two were not strangers and traded leather previously. Not under the lights of a full arena, but in a gritty East London gym where the opening chapters of the Dubois career were being plotted out.
The two heavyweight hopefuls were put together for sparring sessions and recollections of these bouts of friendly fire differ, to say the least.
As far as Hrgovic was concerned, he put the young Londoner in his place. Dubois can’t recall anything untoward happening and points out that he was still a teenager anyway.
Hrgovic insisted it is he who was in possession of the upper hand heading into the huge collision because Dubois won’t have forgotten what took place behind closed doors in London.
For the first third of the fight Hrgovic lived up to his billing, catching Dubois regularly with big right handers. However, Dubois gradually got to grips with the fight and began returning heavy fire and cuts started to open around the eyes of the Croatian.
The fight was halted in the eighth due to the damage around Hrgovic’s eyes, but Dubois was the dominating force and worthy of his win.
It was a costly loss because Dubois was subsequently upgraded to full champion with the IBF and the Hrgovic waiting game continued.
Fighting History
Win
10 Round UD
Joe Joyce
Co-Op Live Arena, Manchester, UK
5 Apr 2025
Loss
8 round tko
Daniel Dubois
Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
IBF Interim World Championship
1 Jun 2024
win
1 round tko
Mark De Mori
Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
23 Dec 2023
win
12 round tko
Demsey McKean
O2 Arena, Greenwich, UK
12 Aug 2023
win
12 round ud
Zhilei Zhang
Jeddah Superdome, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
20 Aug 2022
win
3 round tko
Emir Ahmatovic
MGM Grand, Las Vegas, USA
IBF International Heavyweight Championship
4 Dec 2021
win
3 round rtd
Marko Radonjic
Worthersee Stadium, Klagenfurt, Austria
IBF International Heavyweight Championship
10 sep 2021
win
5 round tko
Rydell Booker
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, USA
Vacant IBF International Heavyweight Championship
7 Nov 2020
win
2 round ko
Alexandre Kartozia
Struer Arena, Struer, Denmark
26 Sep 2020
win
3 round ko
Eric Molina
Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi Arabia
WBC International Heavyweight Championship
7 Dec 2019
win
3 round tko
Mario Heredia
Centro de Usos Multiples, Hermosillo, Mexico
WBC International Heavyweight Championship
24 Aug 2019
win
1 round tko
Gregory Corbin
MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, USA
WBC International Heavyweight Championship
25 May 2019
win
8 round ud
Kevin Johnson
KC Drazen Petrovic, Zagreb, Croatia
WBC International Heavyweight Championship
8 Dec 2018
win
3 round ko
Amir Mansour
Arena Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
Vacant WBC International Heavyweight Championship
8 Sep 2018
win
4 round tko
Filiberto Tovar
Postpalast, Munich, Germany
9 Jun 2018
win
8 round ud
Sean Turner
Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg, Germany
24 Feb 2018
win
4 round tko
Tom Little
Arena Riga, Riga, Lativa
27 Jan 2018
win
1 round ko
Pavel Sour
Sport and Congress Center, Schwerin, Germany
27 Oct 2017
win
1 round tko
Raphael Zumbano
Arena Riga, Riga, Lativa
30 Sep 2017
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