Filip Hrgovic knows what it’s like to share the ring with Daniel Dubois and has used that knowledge to predict the Brit’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk.
Hrgovic and Dubois squared off this time last year, with ‘DDD” the underdog going in. However, he took Hrgovic’s early onslaught well and managed to get a foothold of his own before going on to stop the Croatian in round eight due to cuts.
After that, Dubois was elevated to full IBF world champion and stopped Anthony Joshua inside five rounds last time out to continue his fantastic run of form.
Usyk remains unbeaten and a two-weight undisputed champion who already stopped Dubois once back in August 2023.
Speaking to BoxNation, Hrgovic broke down why this fight could be different.
“Well, look, I think this now is a totally different fight to the first fight. In the first fight, Dubois was outboxed, outclassed, and now I think he’s definitely a different type of fighter. He had three great wins, his confidence is much bigger, much better, he did something with his chin, I don’t know what, but his chin is much better.
“He’s a totally different fighter, so I expect a totally different than the first fight. I still favour Usyk slightly, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Daniel Dubois wins that. I think it will be a great fight, much harder for Usyk than the first one.”
The Brit will need to shake off any ring rust quickly in this contest, having had almost a year out since his victory over Anthony Joshua. For the winner, there will soon be mandatory obligations, the first of which is Joseph Parker.
