Let's say that both of them missed their chances and are no longer in the combinations for the biggest fights, but I like to believe that Warren will enable Hrgovic to fight because he can fight for another two or three years, what do you think?
Whoever wins will be right back in contention and in a decent position for an eliminator depending on how they look. Hrgovic is still top 10 with most orgs and a win by him or Joyce in devastating fashion puts either right back into the mix. And they both have enough name value that with some decent management they could get an eliminator fight with someone else from the top 10. If they look old and middling though, even with a win, it will be more difficult to get them back into the mix.
If Hrgovic wins he probably gets title shot next fight. If Joyce wins he gets an eliminator. For Hrgovic this is more of a "is anyone alive out there?" fight. If his answer is yes hes right back in the mix for best HW. If Joyce wins people will hold it against Hrgovic(and Dubois and AJ) more than act like Joyce is the guy.
Joyce is not ranked in the top 15 of any major sanctioning body. Hrgovic is ranked 6th with the IBF, 8th with the WBC, and 6th with the WBA. My guess is that the winner would fight against another contender to become a mandatory for one of the titles. There are some options for either winner even if its not a mandatory eliminator in: Whyte as he was meant to headline the card and is highly regarded enough, Chisora is looking for a dance partner and may sell his eliminator position with the IBF, perhaps even AJ as he is fairly high in rankings and is very financially lucrative, or perhaps either Parker or Kabayel if they don't fight each other.
I think its too early for Itauma but I could possibly see him being risked against either fighter if they both look poor but the winner will take some convincing to fight Itauma.
You obviously know nothing about British boxing if you think sticking Itauma in with Joyce is a risk. Joyce is shot to pieces. It's a horrible match for Joyce given the styles. Hrgovic is a better match for Joyce, but it would be an upset if he were to beat Hrgovic give how shot he is.
I won't deny Joyce is pretty shot, but don't forget the last time they matched Joyce with an undefeated hyped prospect in Dubois, and they basically scripted so that Dubois would beat Joyce - and look what happened there? Inexperience cost Dubois, and Dubois at that time had more experience than Itauma, and was a bit more proven (debatable though) but it was still Dubois who is a very strong fighter nowadays. Also, you are forgetting that it may be the winner against a fairly decent enough opponent in Hrgovic or Joyce, much better than Itauma has let alone even fought. There is a huge gap between fighting a good journeyman in McKean to a weak contender in Joyce/Hrgovic. Both of these fighters are just so so much more experienced and proven than Itauma.
