Filip Hrgovic rejuvenated his heavyweight career tonight with a unanimous decision victory against Joe Joyce at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester.
Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) came in as a late replacement for Dillian Whyte but bounced back to winning ways from a sole career loss to Daniel Dubois last June. Joyce (16-4, 15 KOs) picked up a second straight defeat following a unanimous decision loss to Dereck Chisora last July. He now has just won once in his last five outings.
Hrgovic’s hand-speed was a problem for Joyce as early as the first round, opting for a left-jab overhand-right combination. Joyce’s chin held up and replied with a left hook towards the end of the round. Hrgovic continued to attack with overhand rights into the second round as Joyce sustained early shots to the head. Joyce did have success as the round grew, cutting Hrgovic over the left eye with a thudding jab. Hrgovic ended the round with a smart three-punch combination.
Joyce pressed early in the third, but Hrgovic landed a big right hand on the chin at the halfway stage. However, Joyce continued to press, landing a big right hand on the cut above the left eye. Hrgovic again found a home for the long right hand to Joyce’s chin to close out the round.
The action slowed in the first half of round four until Hrgovic put together a good combination. The Croat’s hand speed was again proving a problem for Joyce as he landed a screwing right hand followed by a left uppercut. Hrgovic took his turn to press the action, landing right hands while on the front foot.
Hrgovic hung back in the corner, promoting Joyce forward to land counter shots throughout the fifth. Coming in as a late replacement, the tactics were slightly worrying for Hrgovic fans. Joyce had a hint of caution with his opponent choosing to be pinned in the corner. He was having success picking off rare shots, and Joyce’s attacks were largely hitting the shoulders and gloves.
After a sluggish and slow round six, round seven started with more action as Joyce pressed the tiring Hrgovic, landing clubbing right hands behind a left jab to the body. The pair traded halfway through the round, with Joyce coming off the better. Hrgovic upped the tempo in the second half of the round, landing more long overhand rights behind a sharp left jab.
Both men were zapped for energy by the time the bell rang for round eight. There was little to report from the opening two minutes, but Joyce would land a right to the head to catch Hrgovic’s attention. It would force Hrgovic to end the round strong with a straight-right left-hook combination.
Hrgovic took charge of the ninth as Joyce soaked up continuous straight rights to the head. Joyce was forced to retreat as Hrgovic landed a right hand clean to the chin. Pressing forward the whole round, Hrgovic had saved something for the end, barely missing a shot the entire round.
Hrgovic welcomed Joyce forward to start the tenth and final round, picking his counter shots nicely as the Englishman had become predictable. Hrgovic’s quality shone through as the fight drew to a close, but Joyce appeared convinced that he had done enough to take it on the scorecards. However, the judges scored 97-93, 96-95, and 98-92 in favour of Hrgovic.
Undercard results: Adeleye and Rafferty Secure KO’s on Undercard
In the chief support bout was heavyweight David Adeleye, scoring a controversial sixth-round stoppage over Jeamie Tshikeva to win the vacant British title. Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) had Tshikeva (8-2, 5 KOs) on the canvas prior to the stoppage from a clean right to the chin after the referee had called the pair to break. Tshikeva went down hard but would just make it to his feet while protesting. Adeleye pounced on his struggling opponent with a flurry of wild combinations, forcing another knockdown. Tshikeva made it to his feet, but referee Ron Kearney waved it off just 55 seconds into the sixth round.
Super lightweight Jack Rafferty forced a fifth-round stoppage against Cory O’Regan for the Commonwealth title. O’Regan (14-1, 3 KOs) was lucky to see the fourth round, having taken a right hand, sending him to the canvas in the dying seconds of the third. He would make it to his feet but was on unsteady legs as he made it to his corner. O’Reagan did well to box his way through the first half of the fourth, but Rafferty (26-0, 17 KOs) menacingly worked the body in the fourth, fifth, and until the end. O’Regan’s corner threw the towel with 34 seconds on the clock.
2024 Olympian and European and Commonwealth gold medalist Delicious Orie made his professional debut against Milos Veletic. The British heavyweight claimed a comfortable unanimous-decision victory over four rounds. Referee Steve Gray gave Orie (1-0) every round with a score of 40-36. Veletic’s record moves to 3-8.
Super lightweight Khaleel Majid went toe-to-toe with Alex Murphy in an all-undefeated clash over ten rounds. Majid (15-0, 4 KOs) took the unanimous-decision in a very close fight where Murphy (13-1) sustained a cut over the left eye in the tenth. The judges scored the fight: 96-94, 97-94 and 96-95.
Discover more from Fights Around The World
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Pingback: Niemiecka Pilka Wiadomości