Hrgovic rebounds from first loss to outpoint Joyce in slugfest
Heavyweight contender hands Brit 4th defeat, calls for Dubois rematch
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Round after round, heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic bounced one big right hand after another off of the hard head of Joe Joyce as he ground out a hard-fought unanimous decision in the main event of Queensberry Promotions’ “Heavy Impact” card that kicked off the company’s new exclusive deal with DAZN on Saturday at Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Hrgovic took the fight on about three weeks’ notice when Joyce’s original opponent, British countryman Dillian Whyte, withdrew due to a hand injury, and although not at his best did more than enough to win.
The judges scored it 98-92, 97-93 and 96-95 for Hrgovic, who rebounded from his first defeat, an eighth-round stoppage due to severe cuts against Daniel Dubois for the vacant IBF interim title in an action-packed rumble last June in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Fight Freaks Unite had Hrgovic beating Joyce 97-93.
Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Croatia, also evened the score with 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joyce, who he had lost to in the amateur ranks. They did not meet in the Olympics, but Joyce won a five-round split decision over Hrgovic in a high-profile World Series of Boxing bout in 2013 in London.
“Thanks to Hrgovic,” Joyce said of his taking the fight on short notice. “Now it’s 1-1. It wasn’t my time this time but we could do it again.”