The Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang match will see most of the boxing world experiencing their bout to become the mandatory challenger of IBF against the undisputed heavyweight belt holder Oleksandr Usyk. The IBF elimination between the two boxers will be the co-feature before multi-division belt holder Canelo Alvarez goes against the WBA lightweight titleholder Dmitry Bivol. The event will take place on Saturday, May 7, at the T Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, California. The matches will be streamed live as part of the inaugural pay-per-view event of the streaming service DAZN. The viewing will cost the subscribers sixty dollars and non-subscribers eighty dollars. Hrgovic is a former Olympic bronze medalist. He is among the top four contenders in the IBF. Zhilei obtained the silver medal at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. But he lost to the British gold medalist Anthony Joshua at the following Summer Olympics held in London.
He is ranked among the top fourteen boxers by the IBF. The Frenchman Tony Yoka and the Chinese Zhilei were the only heavyweights of the IBF that were approached who were willing to enter into negotiations with the co-promoters of Hrgovic for this title eliminator. The co-promoters are Wasserman Boxing and Matchroom Boxing of Eddie Hearn. Since then, Yoka has committed himself to a match against Martin Bakole of Scotland. Some months from January to May, that match was postponed at the Accor Arena in France. There are several other heavyweights who turned down the invitation from the IBF to negotiate for any elimination match with the handlers of Hrgovic because of injuries, conflicts related to the scheduling, and other reasons. Wasserman and Matchroom won the IBF purse bid with a joint offer of more than half a million dollars. Hgrovic is going to get a major part of the purse or nearly four hundred thousand dollars. This is because he is the higher-ranked among both the boxers. The side of Zhilei will get about a quarter of a million dollars.
Promoter Kalle Sauerland said, "Finally, we've found an opponent willing to accept the challenge. Having gone through the IBF rankings twice, Zhang has stepped up to face Filip Hrgovi? in an IBF World title final eliminator. We now have 'El Animal' versus 'Big Bang' for a shot at the biggest prize in boxing. This epic battle is going to light up T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, where fans can witness the next Heavyweight Champion of the World in action. I love the Heavyweight dust-up between Filip Hrgovic and Zhilei Zhang. It's been a long-time coming for someone to step up to the plate and fight Filip, credit to Zhilei and his team for taking on the challenge. Both men carry huge power, and they know that victory takes them one step closer to the sport's ultimate prize – the Heavyweight Champion of the World. There won't be a backward step taken when they rumble. It's going to be fireworks on an already electric night."
Hrgovic Has Won More Than Six Consecutive Matches by Knockout
The tall Hrgovic has won more than six consecutive matches by knockout or technical knockout. Very recently, he defeated Emir Ahmatovic from Germany in the initial rounds on the undercard of Devin Haney and Joseph Diaz Jr. at the MGM Grand Garden Arena situated in Las Vegas, California. A couple of matches before that, the Chinese boxer had knocked down the American boxer Jerry Forrest in three consecutive rounds at the beginning itself. After that, the boxer got very fatigued and let his rival back in the match. He struggled throughout the rest of the match. He held on for a majority draw on the undercard of Alvarez and Avni Yildrim more than a year ago at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The Chinese boxer has victory in only a single match since his draw with Forrest. The strong boxer has also defeated Craig Lewis in the beginning rounds on the undercard of Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. at the Madison Square Garden in New York.
Hrgovic said, "I've been waiting for this opportunity for more than a year. Finally, I have an opponent willing to face me for the chance to fight for the IBF World title. So many fighters turned down this challenge, so credit to Zhang for being brave enough to accept. I know he's a good opponent. He won silver at the Olympics, so that means he's a good boxer, but he is too slow on his feet, and I believe I have better qualities. My speed, stamina, and footwork will be too much for him. I will break him down, and I will beat him. I'm now only one fight away from my dream of boxing for a World title, and nothing is going to stop me. Canelo is the face of boxing, and I'm excited to get this opportunity on such a big show. I'm ready to show the world that 'El Animal' is coming!"
Matchroom Won the Purse Bid for the Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang Match
The purse bid for the match worked out a little better for Matchroom Boxing of Eddie Hearn. They made a joint offer with Wasserman of more than half a million dollars that won against the offer of ProBox to get the rights of the Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang match. As mentioned before, Hrgovic will be the major beneficiary of the split of the purse. This is because of his higher rankings. The potential date and location were decided after the bid for the purse was over. Zhang took the approach of Steven Bradbury to get the match. He waited a lot while nearly all the top-ranked boxers of the IBF declined to be involved on the night because of not wanting to do it, contracts, or injury. Many fans and experts believe that this is the most crucial match in a career of Zhang. He has aged and nearly imploded against Forrest a couple of matches ago. The only path to a champion belt is through Hrgovic. But it will be some time before he gets the match because of the traffic at the top.
Zhang said, "I am very happy that this fight is going to happen. I've been waiting on an opportunity – now it's here, and I'm not going to let it pass. When no one else from the top 15 wanted to face Hrgovic, I told myself I had to do it for me and for the sport of boxing. This is the most important fight of my whole career. I'm all in. Don't miss it!" Zhang's promoter Terry Lane said, "We know that Zhilei brings some interesting things. There are some unique opportunities for being a Chinese heavyweight. He can really sell a lot of tickets in the New York City area, as we showed the last time. "My job is to maximize this opportunity for my guy. We think it's a great opportunity because it's a title eliminator, so we're excited."
The Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang undercard will also see Montana Love & Gabriel Valenzuela go against one another. Montana Love said, "Nothing changes on May 7. He's just another body in the way." Gabriel Valenzuela said, "I'm so proud to be sharing a spot on the card with such a great Champion, Canelo Alvarez. We're prepared for this and training hard for this fight against Montana Love. He's a tough opponent, but we're going to come very hard to get the victory. That night Mexico is coming with everything we have."
|
Filip Hrgovic |
Zhilei Zhang |
|
|
Country |
Croatia |
China |
|
Age |
29 years |
39 years |
|
Pro |
4 years |
7 years |
|
Height |
6′ 6″ (198 cm) |
6′ 6″ (198 cm) |
|
Division |
heavyweight |
heavyweight |
|
Stance |
orthodox |
southpaw |
|
Titles |
- |
- |
|
Record |
14 - 0 - 0 |
23 - 0 - 1 |
|
KOs |
85% |
78% |
|
Inactive |
154 days |
161 days |
Filip Hrgovic vs. Zhilei Zhang Fight Card