2 days Ago By Jordan Ellis
Big hitting Filip Hrgovic will prove to be a tougher test for Daniel Dubois than Anthony Joshua. That's according to Dynamite’s promoter, Frank Warren, who was speaking to talkSPORT days out from what has been billed as the biggest fight of his life in AJ. In June, IBF heavyweight champion Dubois survived an early onslaught to become the first man to beat Hrgovic , who entered the bout with a 17-0 record and a big win over Zhilei Zhang.
The 27-year-old Englishman ultimately stopped him in the eighth round when a cut opened up on Hrgovic’s face and he was deemed to be in no fit state to continue fighting. Hrgovic has never held a world title. The biggest win of career was controversial as many thought Zhang did enough to pick up a decision victory when they clashed in August 2022.
Still, Warren believes the Croatian boxer casts a big shadow over Joshua despite the fact AJ is a former two-time world champion with a CV full of big-name heavyweights. "For me, Hrgovic is a better boxer than AJ,” the Hall of Fame promoter told Simon Jordan and Spencer Oliver during the latest episode of the talkBOXING podcast . He added: “A much better boxer than AJ, to start with.
” Oliver hummed, seemingly in agreement with Warren, but he immediately pointed out that Hrgovic doesn’t ‘carry the power’ that Dubois next opponent does. “That’s right,” Warren responded. “Again, if you look at [Oleksandr] Usyk, he doesn’t carry the power that Daniel does, but he’s not a better boxer than Usyk.
The 72-year-old believes that Dubois vs Joshua will be a battle of the jabs early before it explodes into an all-out brawl between two of bxoing’s biggest punchers. "What I see it as, when they come out, they are gonna be letting their jabs go,” Warren said. “Whether it’s a defensive jab or he is using it as an attack weapon, whatever it is, that is setting up to let the right hand go because they are both orthodox.
“When they start letting their jabs go, that’s when they become vulnerable to the counter. The jab goes, they let that right hand go and then you are exposed. “It’s about who can take that shot.
” Dubois’ promoter thinks it will be a short but fun fight at England’s national stadium this weekend. “No, I don’t,” Warren replied when asked if the fight goes past six rounds. "I think it’s gonna be a tear up.
"It’s gonna be interesting to see what AJ is going to show up. “Is he gonna come out on the offensive or is he going to do [something different]?” The IBF heavweight title is on the line and it's live on talkSPORT..
. Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois is live on talkSPORT from a packed out Wembley Stadium on Saturday 21 September, while a live YouTube watchalong will also be available on the talkSPORT boxing channel. Tune in through the talkSPORT.
com radioplayer here. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app , or on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM..
