Make no mistake about it, former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua is a marked man as a result of his less than impressive, his less than confident performance against Jermain Franklin. Still one of the biggest draws in the sport, Joshua is the cash cow and, based on his decision win over Franklin, this a performance from AJ that strongly suggested he is gun shy and seriously lacking in self-belief, all the top heavies want a piece of him.
One man, the current IBF mandatory challenger in the unbeaten Filip Hrgovic, made no bones about it when asked for his prediction on what would happen if he fought Joshua (Hrgovic, like WBA mandatory Daniel Dubois, and WBO mandatory Joe Joyce, is in line for a shot at WBA/IBF/WBO heavyweight ruler Oleksandr Usyk, so this may be the fight the Croatian gets, and not a fight with AJ).
“I destroy him. I think I destroy him,” Hrgovic said to ID Boxing when speaking about Joshua. “If he comes in this shape (as in the Franklin fight), I’ll destroy him. My boxing skill, my chin, my speed, my power, everything.”
It’s true AJ looked less than great against Franklin, but in his own most recent fight, Hrgovic laboured to a debatable points win over Zhilei Zhang. Indeed, that version of Hrgovic would perhaps be unable to destroy any elite heavyweight. But is Joshua an elite heavyweight today? It might be a harsh question, but fans who remember the “old” Joshua, the man who was taking down each and every man in front of him, are wondering.
Hrgovic would present Joshua with a very interesting challenge, that’s for sure. But will this fight happen? AJ looks far more likely to fight a Dillian Whyte or an Otto Wallin next, while Joshua has spoken of his desire to fight Tyson Fury in what would of course be a massive, massive fight. Hrgovic? While he waits for his earned shot at the IBF belt, who knows who he may fight?
Hrgovic, 15-0(12) has now been out of the ring for getting on eight months.