Filip HrgoviÃÂ (born 4 June 1992) is a Croatian professional boxer. He has challenged once for the IBF interim heavyweight title in 2024. As an amateur, he won the gold medal at the 2015 European Championships; and a bronze at the 2016 Olympics.
Filip was born on 4 June 1992 in Zagreb, Croatia, to Petar and Iva HrgoviÃÂ. His father, who was born in Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina worked for Croatian Motorways, while his mother, a native of the Croatian capital Zagreb is a graduate in kinesiology and was focused on raising Filip and his four other siblings.
HrgoviÃÂ recalls being overweight as a child, even earning the nickname "fatty" along the way. He would often end up in trouble and be reprimanded for it.
Filip's first sport was basketball at age 8, which he took up as a means to lose weight. He even managed to win the national championship with his club Dubrava but was forced to retire due to back and knee injuries. He then took up swimming, which would also last only a short period of time.
He started boxing at the age of 13 in the boxing club Leonardo under the tutelage of coach Leonardo Pijetraj in his home district of Sesvete in Zagreb. His mother wasn't overly happy with Filip's decision to take up boxing as a profession, but his mind was already made up.
In 2015, HrgoviÃÂ was awarded the Franjo BuÃÂar State Award for Sport and the award for the best sportsman of Zagreb. In 2016, HrgoviÃÂ was awarded the Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo BuÃÂar.
HrgoviÃÂ participated in the 2010 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships, held in Baku, Azerbaijan. He beat Jozsef Zsigmund in the first round, Fargan Omarov in the quarterfinals and Joseph Parker in the semifinals to earn a place in the tournament finals, where he faced Tony Yoka. It was the first of three future meetings in amateur competitions. He beat Yoka by points to win the gold medal. HrgoviÃÂ earned a 10,000 kuna payout from the Croatian Boxing Federation for this victory.
In April 2012, HrgoviÃÂ took part in the European Olympic Qualification tournament, competing in the super heavyweight category. Despite scoring stoppage victories over Nikita Maculevics and Kaspar Vaha in the preliminary rounds, he would lose by decision to Magomed Omarov in the quarterfinals.
HrgoviÃÂ took part in the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships as well. He beat Guangming Gu by stoppage and Mirzohidjon Abdullaev by decision in the preliminary rounds, to earn a place in the quarterfinals. He lost his quarterfinals bout to Roberto Cammarelle by decision.
HrgoviÃÂ was the man credited for the cancellation of the David Haye vs. Tyson Fury fight in 2013, after he cut Haye in a sparring session. He was also Kubrat Pulev's sparring partner for his fight against Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.
In May 2014, HrgoviÃÂ fought in the Croatian National Boxing Championship. He won the gold medal by beating Pero Konsuo in the quarterfinal, Josip Granic in the semifinal and Ivan Andrasic in the finals. HrgoviÃÂ likewise won the 2015 iteration of the tournament as well.
HrgoviÃÂ qualified for the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships. Victories over Dean Gardiner, Mikheil Bakhtidze and Mihai Nistor earned HrgoviÃÂ a place in the finals, where he was to fight Florian Schulz. It was the first time in eleven year that a Croatian boxer qualified for the finals of the European Amateur Boxing Championships. He won the tournament with a unanimous decision win against Schulz.
He was named March Boxer of the Month in 2015 by AIBA.
The last amateur competition Hrgoviàcompeted in was the 2016 Summer Olympics. After beating Ali Eren Demirezen by unanimous decision, Hrgoviàwas scheduled to fight Lenier Pero in the quarterfinals. He beat Pero by TKO. He advanced to the semifinals, where he fought a rubber match with Tony Yoka. Yoka won the fight by a tight split decision, bringing HrgoviÃÂ's overall score against him to 1âÂÂ2 in amateur competitions. Despite this loss, Hrgoviàwon a bronze medal.
After Olympics, he was awarded Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo BuÃÂar by President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-KitaroviÃÂ, for extraordinary sports success and winning a medal at Olympics, also for promotion of sports and the reputation of the Croatia in the world.
On 30 September 2017, HrgoviÃÂ started his professional career with a first-round stoppage victory over Raphael Zumbano of Brazil. HrgoviÃÂ signed a deal with Sauerland Promotions following his debut.
For his second professional fight, HrgoviÃÂ was scheduled to fight the former Czech Heavyweight boxing champion Pavel Sour. The fight was evenly contested for the majority of the first round, until HrgoviÃÂ landed a flurry 30 seconds before the end, knocking out Sour with a right hook.
HrgoviÃÂ was scheduled to fight the Tom Little, who was on a three-fight winning streak, on the undercard of the World Boxing Super Series semi-final clash between Oleksandr Usyk and Mairis Briedis. HrgoviÃÂ dominated throughout the fight, pressuring with a jab-right hand combination. He finally managed to knock Little down near the end of the fourth round, dropping his opponent with a right straight. Although Little managed to beat the ten-count, he had a cut over his left eye, and would quickly lose by technical knockout.
Hrgoviàwas expected to face Sean Turner, at the time the #46 ranked heavyweight according to Boxrec, on the undercard of the WBSS semifinal bout contested by Callum Smith and Nieky Holzken. Hrgoviàremained dominant in all eight rounds, with two of the three judges scoring the fight 80âÂÂ72 in his favor, and the third judge scoring it 79âÂÂ73.
In his fifth professional fight, HrgoviÃÂ was scheduled to fight the undefeated Mexican heavyweight Filiberto Tovar. It was the first time in HrgoviÃÂ's career that he was scheduled to fight a ten-round bout. HrgoviÃÂ once again dominated, stunning Tovar in first, second and third rounds, although he couldn't knock him down. Midway through the fourth round, Tovar's corner threw in the towel, awarding HrgoviÃÂ a TKO victory.
Following his five straight victories, HrgoviÃÂ was shortlisted for The Ring magazine Prospect of the Year award.
HrgoviÃÂ was scheduled to fight Amir Mansour on September 8, 2018, for the WBC International heavyweight title. It was both the first time HrgoviÃÂ fought in his native Zagreb, as well as the first time he was scheduled to fight in a twelve-round bout. In the first round, HrgoviÃÂ utilized half-feints and jabs to pressure his opponent back, relying on his height and length to insulate him from Mansour's lunges. There was a brief break in action during the second round, after Mansour landed a blow to the back of HrgoviÃÂ's head. After the break, the fight continued in the previous tempo, with HrgoviÃÂ achieving a technical knockout win after knocking Mansour down twice in the third round.
Hrgoviàwas expected to make the first defense of his secondary title against Ytalo Perea on December 8, 2018, at the Draà ¾en PetroviàBasketball Hall in Zagreb, Croatia. It was scheduled to be broadcast exclusively by RTL, domestically in Croatia. Perea was forced to withdraw two days prior to the bout due to travel visa issues, and was replaced by former world title challenger Kevin Johnson. Hrgoviàretained his title by unanimous decision, with all three judges awarding him all eight rounds of the fight. He dominated the bout from start to finish and came close to knocking Johnson down with an overhand right in the eight round, although he was unable to finish him. Hrgoviàwas scheduled to make his second title defense against the 15âÂÂ1 Gregory Corbin on May 25, 2019 at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill. The bout was broadcast domestically in Croatia by RTL and internationally by DAZN. It was HrgoviÃÂ's United States debut, as well as his DAZN debut. He won the fight by a first-round knockout, stopping Corbin after just 60 seconds, with his fourth strike of the bout.
HrgoviÃÂ had his first fight in Mexico on August 24, 2019, against Mario Heredia, at the Centro de Usos Multiples in Hermosillo, Mexico. Heredia entered the fight off an upset with against Samuel Peter, but was seen as an easy fight for HrgoviÃÂ, as he had lost five of his past six bouts. Although he started slowly, HrgoviÃÂ maintained a steady stream of jabs, right straights and hooks throughout the first round. Heredia attempted to adjust by landing a number of body shots in the second round, which failed to stop the forward movement of HrgoviÃÂ. The fight ended in the third round, as Heredia was knocked out with a right-left hook combination.
On 7 December 2019, on the undercard of Ruiz Jr. vs. Joshua II, HrgoviÃÂ, then ranked #9 by the WBA and IBF, and #11 by the WBC, had what is perhaps his most notable win to date, a third-round knockout against ÃÂric Molina. He dominated the fight from the first bell, dropping Molina twice; once in the first round and again in the second, before finally closing out with a third knockdown in the third round, from which Molina wasn't able to get up. Hrgoviàwas expected to next face Ondà Âej Pála in the co-main event of the Dina Thorslund vs. Nina Radovanovic title fight, held on September 26, 2020, at the Struer Energi Park in Struer, Denmark. Three days before the fight, Pála withdrew for an undisclosed reason, and was replaced on short notice by Alexandre Kartozia. Hrgoviàjustified his role as the betting favorite, pressuring Kartozia throughout the fight, and knocking him out with a left-right combination at the 1:07 minute mark.
Two months after his victory over Kartozia, Hrgoviàwas scheduled to fight Rydell Booker for the vacant IBF International Heavyweight title o November 7, 2020, at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, in Hollywood, Florida, in his return to the United States. Hrgoviàentered the bout as a âÂÂ10000 betting favorite, while most odds-makers had Booker at +1400. He justified his role as the betting favorite, stopping Booker with a flurry of punches in the fifth round.
Following HrgoviÃÂ's victory over Booker, Michael Hunter called for a fight between the two, claiming he had asked for the fight numerous times before. Although the fight didn't materialize at the time, IBF announced in February 2021 that the #5 ranked Hrgoviàand #4 ranked Hunter would fight to determine who would be the mandatory challenger for Anthony JoshuaâÂÂs heavyweight title. The organization gave both fighters until February 26, 2021, to accept the bout. Both fighters accepted the fight, although the time and place of it weren't immediately revealed, as they were to be determined after a bidding took place on April 6, 2021. The bidding was later postponed. The purse bid was eventually won by Eddie HearnâÂÂs Matchroom Boxing, who bid $606,666 for the fight, with a 60âÂÂ40 split in favor of Hunter. Hunter withdrew from the bout following the purse bid.
As the Hunter fight failed to pan out, Hrgoviàwas instead scheduled to defend his IBF International Heavyweight Title against the undefeated Marko Radonjic on September 10, 2021, at Wörthersee Stadion in Klagenfurt, Austria. Hrgoviàthoroughly dominated his opponent, knocking him down seven times before Radonjiàretired from the bout after the third round. Hrgoviàmade his second IBF International heavyweight title defense against Scott Alexander at the MGM Grand Las Vegas in Las Vegas, United States on December 4, 2021. The bout was set for the undercard of a DAZN card headlined by Devin Haney and Joseph Diaz. On November 30, five days before the fight, it was announced that Alexander had withdrawn from the fight and would be replaced by Emir AhmatoviÃÂ. Hrgoviàwon the fight by technical knockout, 30 seconds into the third round. Prior to the stoppage, he knocked Ahmetoviàdown twice towards the end of the second round.
On January 3, 2022, the IBF sent an invitation to HrgoviÃÂ and Luis Ortiz to enter talks for a final title eliminator. HrgoviÃÂ immediately accepted the offer, with his promoters stating: "Challenge accepted by Filip Hrgovic, [Three] days and counting for Luis Ortiz to accept". Ortiz refused, citing inability to compete due to injury. The IBF then invited the next highest ranked heavyweight contender, Joseph Parker, to enter talks for a title eliminator bout. Parker refused to enter talks as well, due to recovering from injuries. On January 10, the same invitation was extended to Tony Yoka. Yoka accepted the offer on January 13. The fight was supposed to be a rematch of their 2016 Summer Olympics semi-final bout, which Yoka narrowly won on points. The IBF later ruled Yoka ineligible to enter an agreement with any opponent other than Martin Bakole, as the two had already signed contracts to face each other. On January 26, both Andy Ruiz Jr. and Murat Gassiev received invitations to enter into negotiations with HrgoviÃÂ, which they refused five days later, citing lingering injuries as the reason for refusal. On February 7, it was revealed that the #13 ranked Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang had accepted the invitation to enter into negotiations with HrgoviÃÂ.
A purse bid was called by the organization on February 14, as the two camps failed to come to terms. Matchroom and Wasserman won the purse bid a joint bid of $650,000. HrgoviÃÂ was entitled to a 60% split ($390,000), while Zhang received a 40% split of the purse ($260,000). The bout was expected to take place on May 7, 2022, on the Canelo ÃÂlvarez vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard, as the co-feature to the main event. HrgoviÃÂ withdrew from the bout on May 2, following the death of his father. The fight was rescheduled for the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Anthony Joshua II undercard. It took place at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on August 20, 2022, as part of a DAZN pay-per-view.
Despite a poor start, Hrgoviàwas able to win the fight by unanimous decision. Judges Leszek Jankowiak and Robin Taylor scored the bout 115âÂÂ112 in his favor, while judge Pawel Kardyni awarded Hrgoviàa 114âÂÂ113 scorecard. Hrgoviàwas knocked down with a check right hook in the back of the head, which is formally prohibited, in the last thirty seconds of the opening round and appeared to struggle with Zhang's power in the early parts of the fight. As it went on however, the Chinese boxer grew more exhausted and the volume of Hrgoviàwas enough to earn him the latter rounds. The fight result was slightly controversial, and there was some disagreement among the media outlets as to the scoring. For example, BadLeftHook scored the fight 115âÂÂ112 for Zhang, while Boxingscene had it 114âÂÂ113 HrgoviÃÂ.
On November 13, 2022, the IBF formally ordered their heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk to enter into negotiations with HrgoviÃÂ, who was at the time the mandatory challenger for the title. Matchroom and Wasserman Boxing later confirmed that Hrgoviàopted to forgo the negotiation period and head straight to a purse bid. The IBF rescinded their order on January 9, 2023, as they recognized that the WBA was next in the âÂÂrotationâ for a mandatory title defense, with the stipulation that the winner would face Hrgoviàwithin 180 days. Ten days later, it was revealed that the IBF had ordered an interim title fight between Hrgoviàand the former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. As the two camps couldn't come to an agreement, the IBF called for a purse bid to be held on February 28, which was eventually moved up to February 23. Ruiz declined to move forward with the interim championship bout hours before the purse bid was supposed to be held. As the expected bout against Ruiz fell through, Hrgoviàwas instead booked to face the undefeated Demsey McKean on August 12, 2023. The fight took place on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius, at The O2 Arena in London, England. Hrgoviàwon the fight by a twelfth-round technical knockout. He was able to out-land McKean 173 to 116 in total punches and 148 to 90 in power punches. This victory earned Hrgoviàa reported â¬347,000 fight purse.
On October 6, 2023, the IBF confirmed they would strip the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury heavyweight championship unification bout, should the winner not immediately make a mandatory title defense against HrgoviÃÂ. HrgoviÃÂ faced Mark de Mori in a stay-busy fight on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin, on December 23, 2023 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It was his first fight as a free agent, as his promotional agreement with Wasserman Boxing expired on November 2. On the night of the fight, HrgoviÃÂ was able to knock de Mori down in the very first minute of the opening round. The referee stopped the fight at the 1:44 minute mark of the first round, after HrgoviÃÂ knocked his opponent down for the second time.
During an appearance at the Ariel Helwani, Saudi adviser at the Royal Court under the rank of Minister Turki Al-Sheikh made a public offer to HrgoviÃÂ to fight one of six possible opponents: Daniel Dubois, Martin Bakole, Frank Sanchez, Jarrell Miller, Agit Kabayel and Jared Anderson. On April 15, 2024 it was confirmed that HrgoviÃÂ would face former world title challenger Daniel Dubois in a title eliminator on June 1, 2024. HrgoviÃÂ lost the fight via eighth-round TKO, with the ringside doctor stopping the fight due to cuts.
HrgoviÃÂ faced Joe Joyce at Co-op Live in Manchester, England, on 5 April 2025, winning by unanimous decision to claim the vacant WBO International heavyweight title. HrgoviÃÂ was a late replacement for an injured Dillian Whyte in this bout.
On 16 August 2025, he defeated David Adeleye by unanimous decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the undercard of the Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte fight.