A high-stakes heavyweight battle is on the docket on Saturday, live on DAZN PPV, as Filip Hrgovic takes on David Adeleye from Saudi Arabia.
Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) rebounded from his stoppage loss to former IBF titlist Daniel Dubois by winning a decision over Joe Joyce in April. Meanwhile, Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) has two consecutive stoppage wins since suffering his only professional loss to Fabio Wardley in October 2023.
The winner puts themselves in a prime position to secure a marquee fight either at the end of the year or early 2026. You could feel what's on the line as both guys are normally mild-mannered, but they came out of their shells at Thursday's press conference. Hrgovic kicked things off by saying Adeleye should have been disqualified for the stoppage over Jeamie Tshikeva.
"He should be disqualified for the knockout," Hrgovic said.
"(Zhilei) Zhang didn’t knock me down. It was a slip. He pulled me. If you watch the tape, it wasn’t a real knockdown. Dubois didn’t knock me down. It was stopped because of the cut. I was never down in my career. I feel very strong and confident, and coming to destroy this guy."
Not too thrilled by the remarks, Adeleye fired off a shot of his own.
"If he keeps talking like that, I’m going to knock him out the same way I knocked out Jamie," Adeleye retorted.
Smiling, Hrgovic quickly fired off a witty response.
"Looking forward to it man. Let’s get down to business," Hrgovic said.
In the buildup, Hrgovic has done some interviews to where he feels Adeleye will be an easy night at the office and 'a walk in the park'. The Brit had quite the response to Hrgovic's assessment of how the fight would play out.
"Talking is done,' Adeleye said. "Go on to the next person. Saturday night, we’re going to see each other. We’re both heavyweights. He believes in himself. I definitely believe in myself. And if I’m a walk in the park, I want to see the park you’re walking."
Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte is live and exclusive on DAZN PPV this Saturday, August 16. Buy the PPV for a one-off fee or get it for free by purchasing a DAZN annual subscription (exc. US).
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