I'm a bit apprehensive about the Itauma vs. Hrgovic fight.

Is Hrgovic capable of being knocked down? Thought his feet is glued to the canvas. The Zhang kd was BS

 

Finally, this really is a hw fight to look forward to. One of the gems in between and something I am excited for

 

I mean Hrgovic is levels above Prenga. Also, Hrgovic has a far better chin than AJ - and hes probably still in his prime.

That said, its still possible Itauma blows Hrgovic away in the first round. I do think Itauma will win still in the mid to the late rounds via Hrgovic cuts/British stoppage.

 

I'm hoping Hrgovic doesn't become another Joyce. His chin has held up so far but he has taken so much unnecessary punishment from shitty defense that something has to give eventually.

Itauma really needs a proper test and this fight should be that test.

 

Yep... Relying on it is just asking for trouble - it can't be unbreakable forever.

Exactly, it's his first non-shot gatekeeper - if he's the real deal already he'll win clearly... If he's getting there he'll win a competitive one.

 

Still picking Rico to put on a career best performance and stop Hrgovic inside of three one sided and bloody rounds

 

When has Hrgovic ever been knocked down early?

The KD in the Zhang fight wasn't a real knockdown, it was a push, but the dishonest referee wanted Zhang to win and so called it a knockdown. The ref did not recognize a real KD when Hrgovic put Zhang down in the middle rounds, as I remember.

Hrgovic has a solid chin, he took Zhang's and Adeleye's best flush punches without going down, although he did look a bit disoriented after being hit.

 

Or Itauma goes down on the first solid punch, or becomes a sitting duck after 7, we have no idea. We will know on the night

 

It can happen to anyone in the HW division. Saying that, Hrgovic strong as ****

 

This. Look at the Adeleye fight. Got caught with like a 15 hit combo flush, seemed out on his feet (but not wobbly, just stood there absorbing punches), somehow woke up mid barrage and got back to it like no big deal.

We've seen nothing out of Filip to suggest that he's anything but top tier in the durability/toughness department. Ituama has been knocking guys down with single punches or two-punch combos. I can't see that doing anything to Filip other than annoying him. Probably going to take an extended one sided beating to get him off his feet, and the issue there is that he's pretty good so an extended one sided beating is unlikely to happen.

Don't get me wrong, I think Ituama may well win, but I think it'll be his toughest fight by a country mile.

 

Hrgovic is firmly at the Oliver McCall end of the chin spectrum whilst Joshua is firmly at the David Price end.

 

If Hrgovic goes down early there has got to be some questions a$ked, if you know what I mean...

The way Queensbury has been promoting Itauma can make one become suspicious and pessimistic. They're definitely banking on him becoming their next $uperstar.

 

I had a dream that Hrgovic stops him with a body shot. Imagine the scenes if that happened.