Here’s some more heavyweight news. Hot on the heels of the two big August fights being made official – Anthony Joshua-Dillian Whyte II on August 12th and Oleksandr Usyk-Daniel Dubois on August 26th – comes news that Filip Hrgovic and Demsey McKean are close to having a fight against each other. Eddie Hearn, once again speaking with IFL TV, said the clash of unbeaten heavyweights could take place on the AJ-Whyte card in London.
“It [Hrgovic Vs. McKean] is a big fight; it’s almost a final eliminator for the world title,” Hearn said. “That could also land in America a week or two after, but there’s a very good chance Demsey McKean versus Filip Hrgovic will land on that [Joshua-Whyte] show.”
31-year-old Hrgovic of Croatia became the IBF mandatory challenger with his win over Zhilei Zhang, this last August. But though he got the decision win, Hrgovic looked anything but great against “Big Bang” (Hrgovic had recently lost his father, and this affected his mental preparation in a serious way), with him being decked early and seeming lucky in the eyes of many fans to get the verdict. Against McKean, Hrgovic, 15-0(12) will be facing another southpaw.
Australian warrior McKean – who recently, for a brief spell, had his name mentioned as a possible Tyson Fury foe – is as big as fellow lefty Zhang, yet he is nowhere near as experienced. Currently 22-0(14), the 32-year-old has not yet faced anything like an elite heavyweight, and against Hrgovic, he will be taking a big step up in class.
It is to be hoped this fight does land on the O2 bill on August 12, as this will give fans who wish to buy the PPV card (price £26.99) some needed extra value for money.
Hrgovic has been out of the ring for almost a year, and McKean may be hoping he can catch a rusty Hrgovic on the night. That said, McKean has not been overly active himself, last boxing in October. The far more accomplished and proven Hrgovic has to be the pick to win here, but it could prove interesting, especially as Hrgovic is coming off that less than impressive showing last time out.