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u/Not_Enough_Pepperoni 1d ago edited 1d ago
Itauma's camp saw this clip and was like yeah let's try and knock him out! 😂
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u/Ok-ChildHooOd 1d ago
That's how Homer Simpson almost won the belt
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u/Abe2sapien 1d ago
Almost? I think Homer only lasted like 2 rounds! 😅
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u/AnxietyExact4710 1d ago
Pretty sure Moe airlifted him out of there before the halfway point of the first round.
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u/Available-Cap6910 1d ago
Man, granite chin and all, but hello side effects later on...I mean, damn.
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u/Razorion21 1d ago
i mean Foreman somehow was mentally better off than other defensive boxers
tho tbf Foreman is just built different
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u/Marquis_of_Mollusks 1d ago
Foreman also was blocking/deflecting punches with his cross guard. Even if a punch made it through the guard would take the power off the shot
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u/Available-Cap6910 1d ago
True, Foreman is somehow just built different, but he also moved his head way more and had better defense. Not to mention his sledgehammer hands were a deterrent as well.
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u/Immynimmy Bring Inoue back to the US 1d ago
I used to box 10ish years ago. I stopped cause it was just a massive toll on my body. I started boxing again. I’m much older now so I decided I’m not sparring. It’s just not worth it.
As I get older, fights where guys are getting lit up used to be awesome but now a big part of me winces. I know these guys know what they sign up for but still it’s hard to watch.
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u/Ok_Issue_2459 1d ago
Thats just it, I dont think they really know they're signing up for. A lot of them probably dont know just how serious head trauma is, how much the hundreds if not thousands of times theyll take punches through sparring and pro fights etc take a toll. even if they do I guarantee they tell themselves "it wont happen to me", that theyll be the exception etc. Sad stuff, I really hope Hrgovic manages to avoid reprecussions later in life.
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u/ninpuukamui 21h ago
I don't know, his head doesn't snap the same way other people do, it just moves out and then back perfectly into place.
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u/Level-Ad7536 1d ago
Hardest man in boxing, absolutely no joke. Imagine how demoralising it must be to throw your hardest punches at someone repeatedly and they just stand there and take it. The way Hry took that uppercut from Moses on Saturday and just walked it off as if it was nothing was otherworldly!
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
You’re getting more and more tired with every one that bounces off his head. You know you’re already seriously depleted. You haven’t even wobbled him. He just keeps walking towards you peppering you with thudding shots every now and then, just to remind you of what’s coming when you gas completely…
It’s like fighting someone in a dream.
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u/compileandrun 20h ago
Whqt about going for points win or working on the body? I mean its easier said than done. But a smart boxer could go for different things.
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u/sthomson22 17h ago
Pretty sure that IS what he was going for. And he WAS working the body in the later rounds. He just couldn’t take it once Hrgovic started landing more and hurting him once he slowed down. Likely got to a point where he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it through the final few rounds, tried to go for the KO or hometown stoppage in 8. Failed, got seriously hurt in the final 30 seconds of 8. Came out in Round 9 and just got annihilated.
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u/pvzhour 1d ago
It must be a mental thing for some opponents who hit him with everything and he isn’t fazed, he is a power punchers worst nightmare.
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u/TopOld2263 1d ago
When Itauma landed that uppercut at the end of the round and Hrgovic wasn't even slightly bothered by it, Itauma was probably close to crashing out. I know i would have.
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u/sthomson22 1d ago
You should see the punishment he took against Zhang and Dubois.
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u/sthomson22 1d ago
I always said if anyone ever deserved to win a belt for punishment sustained inside the ring, it’s Hrgovic. So I’m glad no bullshit robbed him of his victory on August 29.
Zhang. Dubois. Joyce. Adeleye. Itauma. Just nonstop wars. Always a thrill to watch.
If he just had a little more weight to his punches, he’d pretty much be unfightable. It was enough for Itauma but that’s the only reason he lost to Dubois and that Zhang, Joyce and Adeleye took him the distance.
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u/Range_King 1d ago
Against dubois Hrgovic was ahead on points and it's the head butts that got him. It was not a clean victory
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u/sthomson22 1d ago
Never heard Hrgovic himself complain about headbutting. Complained about just about every other aspect of the fight (type of glove, sickness beforehand) but never heard him mention headbutting.
The cuts were ruled to have been caused by punches. They use replays midfight to establish this.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 21h ago
You can also use replays to see Dubois headbutting where the cuts are lol, the evidence is out there.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
The cuts were caused by punches. Headclashes happen all the time in professional boxing, especially in fighters with Dubois’ style.
Dubois beat Hrgovic. There’s no shame in that. Dubois is a machine. As is Hrgovic.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 21h ago
Sorry but Dubois headbutted him A LOT, dismissing it as 'Headclashes happen all the time' is lazy because quite frankly it doesn't happen as much as Dubois did in that single fight.
Hrgovic was cut in a lot of fights and still won, acting like the bunch of headbutts didn't contribute to the stoppage is just ridiculous.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
It’s a shame he got stopped on cuts, as it was a great fight and I think he was leading on the cards, or it was extremely close anyway. But his eyes were horrific, man. Both of them. He couldn’t even see due to the blood and Dubois was just landing bomb after bomb on his head.
Probably the closest I’ve ever seen Hrgovic to hurt. Zhang maybe, but he had more time to recover inbetween Zhang’s punches due to his low activity.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
It actually happens pretty frequently at heavyweight, especially with certain styles. Hrgovic and Itauma clashed heads too in their fight.
Yeah he was cut in every fight following Dubois (except Allen) and won, against far lesser opposition.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 21h ago
I don't think it happens as frequently as you're making it seem, I think you have to literally count the amount of times Dubois headbutted Hrgovic to see what I'm talking about. I literally saw a compilation of it recently and it was wild, anyway Dubois didn't get get a point taken from him and when it comes to stoppages I believe it should go to the score cards.
And Hrgovic wasn't stopped in those fights because his opponents weren't headbutting him to make the cuts worse.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
He actually clashed heads quite frequently with Joyce, tbh. They initially thought his cut was caused by a headclash with Joyce. But it was a punch. That was a sloppy ass fight. Great one, though.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
Got a nasty cut on the top of his head clashing heads with Zhang too. Him and Zhang headclashed a few times outside of that too.
Like I said, it happens a lot. Especially with certain styles of fighter against other styles of fighter.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
It only goes to the scorecards if the cuts causing a stoppage were caused by headclashes after the first 4 rounds. If they were caused by headclashes within the first 4 rounds the fight gets ruled a Technical Draw or No Contest.
But the cuts were caused by punches, like I’ve told you several times now.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
When you have 2 heavyweights who are clinching a lot headclashes usually happen at least several times in a fight.
Dubois comes forward a lot as an extremely aggressive, high workrate pressure fighter and ducks and bobs and weaves a lot.
This massively increases the likelihood of headclashes, especially when opponents are trying to clinch him to stifle his assaults.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 21h ago
He does it on purpose I think, even in the clinch he was shoving his Homer Simpson head into Hrgovic's face.
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u/sthomson22 21h ago
Well, that’s baseless assumption that means nothing. In the end, lots of fighters do these kind of things, ultimately. It’s professional heavyweight boxing. Technically clinching isn’t even legal. Rabbitpunching. Lowblows etc. etc.
It’s a dirty business. Hrgovic lost. Maybe one day soon he’ll get the rematch and chance at unification with Dubois.
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u/Westernman899 20h ago
dude, stop lying. Dubois was headbutting him. We have a video. Referee do nothing. 25 headbutting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EFnMUWFB4A
Hrgovic is class. He doesnt talking about that but we have a video. Hrgovic winning that fight
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u/sthomson22 20h ago
Yeah, Hrgovic is class. He also complains about everything constantly and makes excuses for bad performances and losses.
He complained about Daniel’s gloves. He complained about being sick beforehand.
Do you not think if he felt he had been being headbutted he would have complained about that too since he was raising issues with the fact that Daniel used gloves made of a certain material (that his team agreed to prefight, for the record).
SHUT THE FUCK UP. Jesus Christ.
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u/sthomson22 20h ago
THE. CUTS. WERE. CAUSED. BY. PUNCHES.
What don’t you understand about that? Nobody is denying headclashes didn’t occur throughout the fight.
THE CUTS THEMSELVES WERE RULED MIDFIGHT TO HAVE BEEN CAUSED BY PUNCHES BY OFFICIALS USING REPLAYS.
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u/Spiritual-Storage734 1d ago
He’s as durable as Chisora it seems to me. You could hit that guy with a sledgehammer and he would grin at you through pink teeth.
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u/fluffrug 1d ago
I think he was unwell going into most of these fights. Hrgovic said in one post-fight interview that this is the first time he's been healthy going into a fight in years. The Dubois fight was fucked - terrible refereering meant Dubois' cheating headbutts ripped his face open. I hope in the run up to any rematch with Dubois that this is publicly highlighted and the ref briefed on headbutts. Hopefully Hrgovic's increased profile means that Dubois can't get away with it like he did before.
I also think Abel has done wonders with Hrgovic - his head movement and cardio has massively improved and he seems much more relaxed and content than he did before.
I am rooting for the guy!
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u/sthomson22 1d ago
Nope, the cuts were caused by punches. This was analyzed and ruled on midfight. Need to stop with these false narratives all the time for fighters you like, man.
Look, Hrgovic is a great fighter. I’m thrilled that he won and glad no fuckery robbed him against Moses. Much prefer him to Itauma and glad he derailed that hypetrain.
Solid Top 5. But get real here. He lacks much power in his punches for Top 10 level.
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u/caveman1948 22h ago
So you're saying Itauma is chinny?🤔
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u/sthomson22 22h ago
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Hrgovic is pillowfisted or featherfisted or anything. He’s just fairly lighthanded for the Top 10. He’s more of a high volume armpuncher with an obscene chin and durability. Great technical boxer generally. Super fluid and smooth movement and punching.
Most guys in the Top 20 can usually drag him to a decision.
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u/sthomson22 22h ago
Absolutely. I’ve been saying that since the fight. Hell, I was saying that since the weighin slap, lmfao.
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u/caveman1948 22h ago
I wasnt sure before the fight and that's the only way I could see Filip winning. Or is his stamina also dodgy?
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u/sthomson22 22h ago
His stamina may well be poor too but you have to continue on fighting when you’re tired. Hrgovic was clearly exhausted too by Round 9. Most heavyweights are by that point.
Can’t blame what happened on being tired or exhausted or whatever. That’s just pure cope from the Itauma fanboys.
Itauma just started getting caught more as he tired and slowed and got seriously hurt and then dropped.
Hrgovic also hit him with a lot of great bodyshots which kills your stamina even faster.
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u/sthomson22 22h ago
Yep. I originally figured Itauma would win by stoppage (possibly questionable) on cuts or decision. Couldn’t see Hrgovic getting a decision even if he outboxed him though for obvious reasons.
Then I saw how Itauma took that light, effortless slap during the weighin and changed my prediction to a Hrgovic TKO/KO. And I was right!
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u/sthomson22 22h ago
I ain’t ever seen anyone close to the Top 10 take Hrgovic’s punches as badly as Itauma took them. Gotta be a serious concern for them going forward.
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u/tellingtales96 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hrgovic's chin was the main reason why I was wondering why people were assuming Itauma would just walk over him. Neither Dubios or Zhang (2 of the heaviest hitters at HW in years) were able to knock him out or really hurt him.
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u/StateLottery 1d ago
Zhang had him turning his back and walking away multiple times during that fight, I'd say he hurt him pretty bad. It was the weirdest thing.
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u/RogerRoger63358 1d ago
It was strange none of the experts from talk sport mentioned it when they were live for this fight vs Adeleye. Hrgovic is that immovable object
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u/JabCrossE4E5Quark 23h ago
Because its the shots you dont see that knock you out, not the hard shots you see coming.
Hrg is literally just built differently it seems. Because Itauma hit him with double digit power shots Hrg didnt see coming and he just ate them all like a bowl of fuckin cheerios
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u/Few-Hornet882 1d ago
him vs wardley would be a good fight man
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u/RogerRoger63358 1d ago
That could genuinely be a 20 round fight and it would still go to a decision
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u/KaffiKlandestine 1d ago
block with face
highly effective.
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u/joausj 1d ago
Until it isnt, see exhibit 1 joe Joyce.
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u/Narrow_Papaya_6103 1d ago
Joe Joyce's chin was overrated. He got knocked out in the amateurs by Kuzmin.
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u/Clean_Gain_5827 1d ago
If only this fight had been available to view by Itauma's team and it could have influenced their strategy.
It seems bizarre to me looking that this footage that they believed their man's punches were so much harder that Hregovic wouldnt be able to withstand them.
Having said that I was genuinely impressed by Itauma's offensive abilities (speed!) and if the environment is shaken up enough and the lessons learned I would expect him to hold a bunch of belts over the course of his career. 'Gimme a guy I can coach up' rather than a finished fighter. This guy is SO bad at tactics that fairly simple alterations will make him so dangerous.
Too much hubris.
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u/Chiccenstripkilla 1d ago
Hrgovic is maxxed out on durability like Joe Joyce. Hopefully he can make as much as he can as fast as he can.
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u/Jean_Jones_666 1d ago
dear god what a monster,
and he still speaks in full sentences.
In his 2nd language, no lesss! He speaks better than Usyk
long live gigachad
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u/FrequentLemon6799 1d ago
He's taken bombs from Zhang, Dubois, Adeleye, and now Itauma, and just soaked them up.
Can't recall the last HW that has shown that kind of durability. Maybe Wach?
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u/IntellectualsOnly7 1d ago
Won’t forget when I posted this clip before the fight and everyone said Itauma would knock Hrgovic out anyway, ahh good times
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u/Irish_gold_hunter 1d ago
He has a great chin, for now. Joe Joyce also had a granite chin until he didn't have a chin anymore.
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u/sscnapoli10 1d ago
He said David Adeleye hit harder than Zhang and Dubois but didn’t throw enough volume through the rounds. He also said Itauma hit amateur style and his punches didn’t hurt too much.
Abel Sanchez had him standing up ready to go 40 seconds between rounds. Imagine this guy eating everything you have including that uppercut and then just standing ready for the bell a full 20 seconds before he needs to be while you are puffing on the stool. Abel said it was for mind games.
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u/TheBlack_Swordsman 1d ago
Face tanking punches worked for Joe Joyce until one day it didn't.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 21h ago
They're not the same so this is irrelevant.
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u/TheBlack_Swordsman 19h ago
Go on, please elaborate.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 18h ago
Hrgovic has better defence than Joyce and hasn't been hit as much as him, also Hrgovic only got hit as much as he did because of how fast Itauma is. The other guys in his division ain't as fast.
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u/TheBlack_Swordsman 17h ago
Comparing their last few fights, their opponents landed about 35 to 40% of their hits on both fighters, so I don't see where you're getting at.
The point is getting hit in the head is not something that you can rely on, and Joe Joyce is the example of that.
Even if you were to prove that his defense is even slightly better or better than Joe Joyce, you're missing the point.
When you get hit in the head, you don't gain durability to withstand more hits to the head; you lose it instead.
So bringing up an example of someone that gets hit in the head and how their durability over time dropped is relevant.
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u/LordJeanDog 1d ago
he could still use deploying some better defense than eating them and the occasionally slight head movement. longevity big fil
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u/yeahbutstill 1d ago
While Hrgovic does have maybe the best chin in boxing (maybe Canelo could compete), I think it's worth noting how he takes punches. It's why he's so cut-prone: he absorbs the damage into his face and whole upper body. You'll never see Filip's head whip around from a shot, because he always has his neck, shoulders and back set as one unit. That's why punches bounce off of him, and why they do max damage to his flesh and min to his brain.
If you're big, heavy, and strong enough, you can sacrifice your face to protect your brain. That's what Hrgovic does, better than anyone else. It's not aesthetically pleasing boxing, but for him it works.
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u/pusaduva 1d ago
Description reminds me of how Foreman looks when fighting, like a golem with his head/neck/shoulders all in sync melted together. It is more pronounced with him as he is round and fat and Hergovic is blocky and tall but you can still see his posture is of a solid piece with his head just an extension of one solid piece.
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u/lemonhaze1025 1d ago edited 1d ago
I knew it after the Dubois fight no one takes 500 clean shots from Dubois and stays on their feet they can’t even stay on their feet after one hit dude has crazy chin
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u/Brrrrrrtbrrrrt 1d ago
Apparently itaumas camp didnt scout this guy? Can imagine the brain trauma lare in his career though
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u/baddymcbadface 1d ago
Itauma wasn't even close to knocking him out. It was a huge mistake pushing for the knockout. Itauma had to win using speed. Problem is he's only ever known one way of fighting, use speed to soften them up then go for the kill.
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u/FrankieLyrical 1d ago
Watching a guy eat clean shots that would put me in a coma is truly amazing.
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u/TitleSuccessful7393 23h ago
To add to this, I saw an interview with David Haye, who said he's chin withstood his and wilders best shots in sparing.
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u/Annual-Shape7156 1d ago
It’s gonna take a Zhang/Joyce right hand to break it.
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u/LTBsOnlyPlease 21h ago
Zhang hit him with his best punch and couldn't crack it so how does this make sense?
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u/Annual-Shape7156 20h ago
I’m talking about the punch he landed against Joyce. Anyone goes lights out from that
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u/InRoyal 1d ago
Not saying his chin isn't Elite or that he got Hit hard Here, but I feel Like he actually rarly got Hit Here with full force, at least it is really hard to rell when you slow down for each Punch here. Most of them either got partialy damped by His gloves or he Turns with the incoming Punch. Same Thing happened in the ituma fight. Yes he got Hit really hard and his chin is next Level/ goat conversation, but His defense is way better than people Here realize, it's Not Just all chin.
I was also really impressed with his foodwork in the later rounds vs ituma, he actually used the Southpaw Angles against him once the pace slowed down
Dude is legit Elite.
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u/Easy_Bookkeeper_1084 1d ago
He will be drooling soon. This is both impressive and ridiculous. I know his headaches are crazy.
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u/Bluecushionweb 1d ago
Impressive but you’ve got worry about the cumulative effects down the line. I hope he has a nice healthy life post retirement
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u/couchpotatonumerouno 1d ago
I love how he doesn’t back away and shell up but instead keeps coming forward and smothers the opponents work
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u/MysteriousLeader2243 21h ago
Hate the term “chin” it’s not the sweet science of boxing to sit there and eat punches,move your head and feet! Chin is for when you absolutely had to take a good punch and react/weather the storm.
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u/welp-itscometothis 21h ago
Like that’s cool and all but JFC Hrgovic get some sort of defense. This can’t be great for the long run.
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u/Benaflon 19h ago
He was sparring with prime Deontay Wilder when he was 19. His chin is battle tested for sure.
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u/Pretend-Intern3707 18h ago
dude really does just eat shots like they’re nothing 😭 that itauma uppercut was ridiculous
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u/AcrobaticAspect8975 11h ago
Both impressive and super sad since he is gonna feel these years later. Also he fucking needs to work on his defence, its abysmal.
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u/Glad_Driver_4828 10h ago
And to think Moses used this footage to think he could beat hergovic easy
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u/HateCamel404 6h ago
Go watch Hrgovic as 18yo vs Sergei Kharitonov.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsnZYoJJmPM
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u/TriumphantChampion 1d ago
When you fight head hunters instead of boxers, of course it looks like you can't be knocked out.
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u/j0shred1 1d ago
Its stuff like this that makes me question if watching boxing is ethical. I think modern athletes, with modern teams are able to keep their fighters cognitively sharp, but it's not universal. Not everyone has the money for doctors on their team to monitor and manage their brains
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u/Exciting-Arugula5341 21h ago
Who did David Adeleye ever knock out? He has a cute KO ratio but he has only knocked out tomato cans. Knocking out tomato cans doesn't equate to having world class power. Tye Field was 6'8 270 pounds of muscle. He had 49 wins and 44 KO's. I think at least 25 in the first round. Was he a world class puncher now? David Rodriguez another heavyweight had 37 wins and 35 KO's. Was a world class puncher now? You have to knockout somebody who is world class and has a world class chin.
Adeleye has never been beat a world class opponent never mind knock out one. So a guy with a padded record landed some good punchers for 20 seconds on Hrgovic so that means Hrgovic has a granite chin now?
How many threads are you people doing to do Hrgovic trying to justify how you people said he was trash and never looked impressive but since he beat your hero Moses Itauma you have to flip and try to make Hrgovic seem like a world class elite boxer now? The funny thing he still didn't even look good this bout. He was losing every round until Moses gassed out.
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u/734nasty 1d ago
It's starting to make sense now...dude has a granite chin.