Eddie Hearn names the target for Anthony Joshua's next fight
Anthony Joshua could be fighting IBF #1 Filip Hrgovic in 2024 instead of Deontay Wilder next year, Eddie Hearn confirmed.
AJ did what he was supposed to in Saudi Arabia by breaking down and forcing Otto Wallin to retire after the fifth round, but Wilder didn't hold up his end of the bargain when he lost on points to a dominant Joseph Parker in the co-main event.
Joshua and Wilder had signed to fight twice in 2024, but now that has gone up in smoke after he fell to a third defeat within his last four fights.
Matchroom Boxing promoter, Eddie Hearn, stated, "We signed for Wilder, he lost. Maybe it's a blessing because AJ wants to become a three-weight world champion.
"It's gonna be AJ vs Hrgovic for the world title."
Wilder has only won three from his last seven bouts and, at the age of 38, with two brutal knockout defeats sustained from Tyson Fury, many now believe he has reached the end of his boxing career, especially after his negative, jittery performance against Joseph Parker last weekend.
Who is Filip Hrgovic?
Filip Hrgovic is a Croatian boxer, born June 4, 1992 (31-years-old).
As an amateur, he was a 2010 Youth World Boxing Championships and the 2015 European Championships.
He won bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
He was overweight as a kid and bullied for it, called 'Fatty' often, so he took up basketball to lose weight.
Filip started boxing aged 13.
When he beat Tony Yoka in the 2010 Youth World Boxing Championships, the Croatian Boxing Federation paid him 10,000 Kuna as a reward.
He defeated Joseph Parker in that 2010 AIBA World Youth Championships Semi-Final on his way to the gold.
BoxRec list his amateur record as 60-10, 23KO, but they only record just some of the bouts, not all.
He lost to Joe Joyce in the World Series Boxing in 2015.
Hrgovic turned pro with the Sauerlands in 2017.
He has won the WBC and IBF International heavyweight titles as a pro.
World Rankings:
WBC #11
WBA #12
IBF #1
WBO #5
IBO #12
Who should Deontay Wilder fight next?
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