Hearn says Allen cannot outbox Hrgovic and must pressure him, cut him, and force a rough heavyweight fight in Doncaster

Eddie Hearn believes Dave Allen has only one realistic route to beating Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night in Doncaster. Hearn said Allen must turn the heavyweight clash into a rough fight built on pressure, exchanges, and physical damage because trying to outbox Hrgovic over ten rounds would play directly into the Croatian’s strengths.

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“I give Dave Allen a good chance in this fight,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV. “Listen, Hrgovic is a seasoned, experienced, quality technician. He’s rangy. He’s a good technical boxer. He’s got good fundamentals. He’s very accurate. He has good output. So, in that respect, it’s not the greatest style for Dave Allen.”

“And you’re going to have to do something extraordinary for you to win this fight. You’re going to have to box out your skin. He’s done it before, right? He’s produced moments in fights where you didn’t think it was going to happen, but this is another level.”

Hearn then pointed to Hrgovic’s tendency to cut easily and said Allen cannot afford to stay cautious.

“You always have to look at the opponent and say, ‘How do I beat this guy?’” said Hearn. “And the way that you beat Hrgovic, unfortunately, you’re going to have to get amongst it.”

“You’re going to have to break him down. You’re going to have to cut him up because he literally sneezes, and he opens up these days. You got to make it that kind of fight. But to do that, you’ve got to be active.”

Hearn also compared Hrgovic favorably to Arslanbek Makhmudov, who defeated Allen by a 12-round unanimous decision in October 2025.

“This is a fighter that I believe is better than Makhmudov,” said Hearn. “Styles make fights, but this style is quite a difficult style for Dave.”