Unbeaten super heavyweight, who threatened Usyk with defeat, sensationally lost his championship fight by knockout. Video

Interim IBF heavyweight champion Filip Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs) suffered his first career defeat. At the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 31-year-old Croatian sensationally lost to Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) by TKO.

From the first minutes, the fighters began to box aggressively without any reconnaissance. Hrgovic predictably worked as the first number, breaking through the British's defense with deuces and jabs. The fight continued in the same style in the 2nd round, after which Dubois suddenly woke up and started delivering blows too.

Several side kicks visibly hurt the tired Croatian fighter. Dubois turned on his feet, delivering direct punches and giving Filip a cut on his face. The fight was more like a sawmill, where Daniel used the jab perfectly. Hrgovic, not having calculated his strength, was falling down more and more tired from the blows, several times punching his opponent in the back of the head and receiving a warning from the referee.

By the middle of the fight, Dubois was already working as the number one, simply beating his opponent, who was bleeding from the gash above his eyes. In the 8th round, the referee consulted a doctor and stopped the fight.

As reported, Hrgovic was supposed to become Usyk's next opponent after the Ukrainian's rematch with Fury. It was because of the Croatian boxer that our compatriot was supposed to be deprived of the title of absolute world champion in the super-heavyweight division.

In his interview, Philip had previously stated that he would beat any opponent, be it Usyk or Fury.

On August 27 last year, Dubois lost to Usyk in the 9th round by TKO.

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