New situation: Bakole duck (claiming injury), Mark de Mori IN for Hrgovic, severe reputation damage?

The notion that Joyce was wrong for facing Zhang is too popular for my liking.

There's an idea he should have faced soft touches to protect his ranking that's too prevalent when these threads are mentioned.

 

In what world is it a risky fight for either? Being on a Saudi card will be their biggest pay day so far and put them in the limelight. It anything this is a massive chance

 

Bakole is still a great win. Losing to Hunter X years ago means nothing, and Micheal is a fantastic boxer who would outslick and outthink a lot of clods in the division if given the chance to collect the bounty on their heads.

 

Any fighter that takes tough fights is either confident or a jobber - and Hrg obviously isn't the latter.

Was Joyce really all that foolish to take Zhang? Up until that point his chin looked unbreakable and he was riding a hype wave that suggested he should be comfortable with ZZ - hindsight often makes hype trains look silly, but in the moment it just looked like a decent fighter taking a reasonable fight that they'd be strongly favoured to win...

And, like Joyce, any title fight is still far enough away that they have a choice between either inactivity, taking an easy fight or continuing to take fights that will push them to train hard and fights where they might learn something.

For a fighter who wants to be the best they can be, instead of playing politics sitting around waiting for a title bout that might never come (especially given the dodginess of multiple Orgs), a good test is a worthwhile fight to take.

I would respect Hrgovic for taking a decent fight - and rate him more highly if he does well.

 

Hope in happens but with the way the division is right now with so few quality match ups being made, won't be shocked if it doesn't happen.

If it does happen I think Hrgovic beats him on points. Bakole will be competitive in the first half but he tends to fade down the stretch and Hrgovic will pull away in the 2nd half of the fight to win a decision.

 

Hrgovic has a tough chin and better overall skills than Bakole. It's a good fight but one he should win.

 

Hear, hear!

It's important to keep pushing... Waiting around for fights that might never happen is a great way to stall a career permanently.

Besides, the idea that title shots come from playing political games outside the ring is pathetic to me... If rankings aren't based on who's doing the most good work, and aren't encouraging top guys to take good fights (or worse, doing the opposite!) then things are properly rotten - and yes, we know that's the case, but it doesn't mean that fans don't appreciate the fighters who actually make good fights (regardless of how long it takes them to get their title shots).

 

Bakole is a high-risk, low-reward opponent for Hrgovic.

Really, it should be Hrgovic-Wallin for the IBF interim title.

Bakole should be fighting Makhmudov, Wilder or Joshua.

 

Bakole is a monster idk how folks are discrediting him. Tough fight for Hrgovic. If he gets this win it solidifies his resume with Zhang and Bakole. Bakole > Whyte.

 

A monster by beating Yoka and Takam?

 

This is kinda how I'm seeing it play out. Bakole is dangerous for the first half of the fight, then Hrgovic runs away with the second half thanks in no small part to his opponent running on fumes, with the result being a controversial decision. Basically a repeat of his fight with Zhang.

 

Bakole will beat Hrgovic. Nobody's career is getting ended though, good fight between 2 contenders.

 

Hrgovic should wait for the title opportunity and that is it

 

Bakole is a big, powerful guy, but not anything Hrgovic hasn't seen before.

I think Hrgovic just wants fights, after being blackballed for so long.

In a way, this is a crossroads fight for both guys who've had problems getting fights