“Povetkin, Whyte, Chisora” – Filip Hrgovic Calls Out Heavyweight Elites After Stopping Rydell Booker For the First Time

In the lead up to the fight, Filip Hrgovic had stated that he would finish Rydell Booker to prove his contention for Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight gold. Needless to say, he did just that as he became the first fighter to hand a stoppage loss to the boxing veteran.

Soon after the fifth round stoppage win due to excessive blows, Hrgovic did not hold back as he called out the heavyweight elites. Additionally, he also called out rising prospect Daniel Dubois.

In the post-fight interview, Hrgovic said, “Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, whoever. Povetkin, Dillian Whyte, Chisora, I want all these guys to fight and to beat. This will be my preparation for the best in the division.” 

Earlier, Hrgovic had touched on the fact that Povetkin could not stop Brooker. He claimed that he would prove his mettle inside the ring by eclipsing Povetkin’s result. The Croatian boxer put up a clinic against the journeyman who had no answer to the Croat’s aggressive approach.

Hrgovic had said, “In Booker’s last fight, my opponent now went the distance against Kubrat Pulev. Now, Pulev’s going to take on Anthony Joshua, so I want to knock him out. I want to make a statement to the whole division with a knockout win.”

He did just that by dishing out a beating to Booker and extending his winning streak to 12-0. Following the win, Hrgovic was a pure class as he went to hug Brooker. Following the fight, he labeled his opponent as old. This is something that seemingly did not go down well as the veteran appeared to have pushed him.

However, the performance was an exhibition of sheer dominance which was befitting of a pugilist with championship aspirations.

What’s next for Filip Hrgovic?

With a performance as supreme as this one, Hrgovic definitely deserves the top-10 boxing heavyweights going forward. He was smart, calculative, and gave no chance to Booker. Filip took multiple digs at Povetkin in the lead up to this fight.

Additionally, he also called out Povetkin in the post-fight interview. A lot would depend on the outcome of Povetkin vs Whyte 2 targeted for January 2021. Hrgovic could be looking at a huge match-up against the Russian legend should things play out favorably for him.