Even though a Filip Hrgovic boxing record displays this undefeated fighter’s impressive spell of success thus far, many people within the boxing community believe that Hrgovic has still just scratched the surface in terms of his true potential.
While this stoic warrior isn’t likely to sell too many tickets with what he has to say, Hrgovic’s raw punching power and elite ability inside the ring is more than enough to get boxing fans in seats. And while he hasn’t been the most talked about fighter performing on this weekend’s Day of Reckoning card in Saudi Arabia during the card’s lead up, Hrgovic could very well be the talk of the boxing world once the card comes to a close.
Hence why we wanted to analyze the Filip Hrgovic bio, how his professional career has fared thus far, and gauge his chances against Mark de Mori this weekend.
Who is Filip Hrgovic?
Filip Hrgovic Bio
Filip “El Animal” Hrgovic is a Croatian professional boxer who was born on June 4th, 1992, and is currently 31 years old. Filip Hrgovic’s boxing record as a professional is 16-0 with 13 KO’s, and has held the WBC International title and the IBF International title.
Filip Hrgovic started boxing at the age of 13 — despite his mother wishing against it. As an amateur, Hrgovic participated in the 2010 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships, where he won a gold medal. He also took part in the 2013 AIBA World Boxing Championships, but lost in the quarterfinals. Hrgovic also won a gold medal at the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships.
Hrgovic also competed in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He advanced to the semifinals, where he lost to Tony Yoka by a tight split decision. Despite this loss, Hrgovic won a bronze medal in those Olympics.
Filip Hrgovic Boxing Record (Professional)
Filip Hrgovic turned pro in September 2017, and won his first professional fight with a first-round knockout. Just one year later, Hrgovic was 5-0 as a pro and was scheduled to fight for the WBC International heavyweight title, against Amir Mansour. Ultimately, Hrgovic won that fight in the third round, via TKO — therefore winning the WBC International heavyweight belt (which he still holds today).
Another notable victory for Hrgovic came in December 2019, when he faced Eric Molina on the undercard of the Ruiz Jr. vs. Joshua II fight. Hergovic dominated the fight, dropping Molina twice before finally knocking him out in the third round.
In November 2020, Hrgovic fought Rydell Booker for the vacant IBF International Heavyweight title — and ultimately knocked Booker out in the fifth round, claiming the IBF International Heavyweight belt.
Filip Hrgovic vs Zhilei Zhang
In January 2022, the IBF sent invitations to multiple heavyweight fighters to face Hrgovic for a title eliminator. After many refusals, Chinese boxer Zhilei Zhang accepted. Although Hrgovic withdrew from the initial bout date after the death of his father, the match was rescheduled for the Oleksandr Usyk vs Anthony Joshua II undercard in Saudi Arabia in August 2022.
Despite a poor start and very tightly contested bout from start to finish, Hrgovic ultimately won the fight agaist Zhang by unanimous decision, with scorecards 115–112, 115-112, and 114–113 — although some media outlets believed Zhang should have been deemed the winner.
After another victory in August 2023 against Demsey McKean — which Hrgovic won by 12th round knockout — the IBF ruled that Hrgovic was the next in rotation among the sanctioning bodies to challenge the unified WBA, IBF, and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. Yet, considering that both fighters are scheduled to face other opponents at the end of 2023 and in early 2024, respectively, it’s unknown when (and if) that bout will ever end up taking place.
Filip Hrgovic vs Mark de Mori
With a future matchup with Usyk waiting in the wings for the time being, Filip Hrgovic has now turned his attention toward Mark de Mori, who he’ll face this weekend on the Day of Reckoning card.
Considering that Hrgovic is entering this fight as a gigantic -5000 favorite, oddsmakers (and most other people within the boxing community) expect Hrgovic to produce a spectacular knockout on Saturday; which could arrive as early as the first round.
This weekend presents the opportunity of a lifetime for Hrgovic. Although he has always been an extremely talented fighter, the fact that he doesn’t do much self-promotion has kept him from earning the big time fights that he deserves. But being on this Day of Reckoning card — fighting before world-renowned names like Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder — means that he’ll be able to showcase his skills for the whole world.
Therefore, if Hrgovic goes in there Saturday and does what’s expected of him, his fame should rise exponentially; which should mean some huge fights and lucrative opportunities will come his way in 2024.
Grant Young is a sports writer from San Francisco. He has had two professional Muay Thai fights: he got knocked out in one, and got a knockout in the other. When it comes to his favorite fighters, it's Israel Adesanya, and then it's everyone else.
