Hrgovic edges Zhang in a punishing heavyweight title eliminator
C. Smith scores KO to become light heavyweight mandatory challenger; Jack wins split decision in cruiserweight bout
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Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic pulled out a close decision victory over Zhang Zhilei in a grinding, grueling and punishing final elimination bout on Saturday at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Hrgovic won the IBF title eliminator 115-112, 115-112 and 114-113 to earn a mandatory shot at unified titleholder Oleksandr Usyk, who outpointed Anthony Joshua in a rematch in the main event.
“It was a very close fight. I was losing the fight but in the later rounds I pushed myself and gave everything and gave him some huge shots,” Hrgovic said. “Last six rounds he was just standing there.”
It was essentially a battle of Hrgovic’s potent right hand versus the southpaw Zhang’s hard left as they battled in a fight that was scheduled for May 7 on the Canelo Alvarez-Dmitry Bivol undercard in Las Vegas but postponed when Hrgovic withdrew due to the death of his father in the weeks before the bout.
“This was for my father. He was a special man,” Hrgovic said.
Hrgovic appeared to be in control in the first round until the final seconds when Zhang caught him with a sweeping right hook partially behind the head that was called a knockdown.
“The knockdown I wasn’t hurt at all,” Hrgovic said. “I lost balance but I wasn’t hurt at all. But to be honest, he surprised me. He is better than I thought he is. He gave me a tough fight. It was a really close fight but I think I won.”
Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs), 30, of Croatia, now trained by Ronnie Shields in Houston, came back strong in the second round and rocked Zhang with a right hand. In the third, he suffered a bloody cut on the left side of his forehead/hairline from an accidental head butt.
They both had their moments in a very rough, tough fight.
Zhang (24-1-1, 19 KOs), 39, of China, whose face was marked up by the fourth round, closed the fifth round by doing damage as he landed multiple heavy shots that clearly trouble Hrgovic, but the round ended before Zhang could close the show.
He had a dominant sixth round, sending Hrgovic reeling as he landed many hard shots. Hrgovic looked like he was done but he came back strong in the seventh round as he landed a hard right hand early and seemed to find a second wind.
Zhang landed a heavy left hand in the opening seconds of the eighth round but walked through and returned fire with his own heavy right in what had become a grueling fight. Later in the round, he rocked Zhang again with a right hand.
As the ninth round was ending, Zhang caught an unprotected Hrgovic with two hard left hands that seemed to hurt him but again the round ended before he could follow up.
Zhang had Hrgovic in trouble again in the 11th round after landing clean straight left hand and in the 12th Hrgovic came back and nailed Zhang with a right hand early in the round, which Zhang acknowledged with a nod.
Smith drills Bauderlique
In his second fight since moving up to light heavyweight, former super middleweight champion Callum Smith scored a highlight-reel fourth-round knockout of European champion Mathieu Bauderlique in a WBC light heavyweight title eliminator.
With the win, Smith is now the organization’s mandatory challenger for three-belt 175-pound champion Artur Beterbiev.
Bauderlique started quickly and landed a few shots as he burned off nervous energy with a herky-jerky style in the first round but Smith, who is now trained by Hall of Famer Buddy McGirt, eventually got into a groove and took care of business.
He landed a left hook high on Bauderlique’s head in the fourth round, which forced Bauderlique to touch his glove to the canvas for a knockdown.
But Bauderlique (21-2, 12 KOs), 33, a southpaw from France, had been hurt and Smith (29-1, 21 KOs), 32, of England, went after him. He teed off on him with both hands and wobbled him before firing two left hooks to the body followed by a left hook to the head that heavily dropped Bauderlique in a corner, causing referee Hector Afu to wave it off at 1 minute, 53 seconds.
It was another significant win at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena, which is also where Smith knocked out countryman George Groves in the seventh round to win the WBA and vacant Ring magazine super middleweight title in the final of the World Boxing Super Series tournament in September 2018.
“Good performance. Good to get back in regardless of where it was,” said Smith, who was fighting for the first time in 11 months. “Good to come back here. It puts me in line for the world title. Good night all around.”
Smith won’t get an immediate shot at Beterbiev, who is coming off minor knee surgery and due to face a Anthony Yarde in a postponed WBO mandatory defense in early 2023, but wants the fight as soon as possible.
“It’s down to my team to see what the best option is,” Smith said. “Obviously, I want a world title. I’m still in this game to become a two-weight world champion. It’s a big goal I’ve set for myself. Tonight put me one step closer.”
Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said he hoped to have Smith remain active with another fight before the end of the year.
“The only thing he’s in the game for is to be a two-division world champion,” Hearn said. “But I want to see him active. One fight this year hasn’t been enough. We want him to box again if he’s ready and willing, probably in November, December.”
Jack edges Rivera
In another undercard bout, cruiserweight Badou Jack (27-3-3, 16 KOs), 38, of Las Vegas, a former super middleweight and light heavyweight titlist, edged Richie Rivera (21-1, 16 KOs), 31, of Hartford, Connecticut, in an action-packed fight.
Jack got the nod 96-94 on two scorecards with Rivera winning 96-94 on one in a fight that featured an egregious error by the timekeeper, who allowed the eighth round to last 3 minutes, 58 seconds, nearly a minute longer than a regulation round.
Photos: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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I think the decision for Hrgovic was fair.
It still amazes me that boxers at this level still have to slip and slide around on a giant slick decal in the middle of the ring. Wtf is up with that? I’ve been watching boxing since the 70’s and it still happens all the time.
So, here’s the real question about the Hrgovic-Zhang fight: Was it a “slobberknocker?” Immediately after the fight, I would’ve said no. But after watching Usyk and AJ show skill at the highest level, the co-feature looks in hindsight more like the Chisora-Pulev scrap.