Filip Hrgovic survives early cut to reaffirm contender credentials against David Adeleye

Filip Hrgovic overcame a nasty second-round cut to the head to reaffirm his status as a potential future title contender with a victory over David Adeleye at Riyadh's ANB Arena.

The Croatian scored a comfortable unanimous decision with scorecards of 98-91, 99-90, and 99-90 against the Briton, dropping him in the eighth round en route to the win.

With just one loss apiece on their professional records, and the prospect of a top division that could splinter its belts in the near future, both men arrived with plenty at stake.

But ultimately, it was the more experienced Hrgovic who won, extending his professional record to 19-1, the lone loss against Daniel Dubois last June for the IBF interim strap.

It is a result that will further push his name into the conversation to face other foes chasing a full title shot, while for Adeleye, the result will prove to be a useful learning curve.

The star made the bold choice to vacate the British heavyweight title and set the Lonsdale Belt aside in pursuit of this clash, and will have plenty of lessons to take away from it.

Ahead of a clash that arguably could hold headline status in its own right, its stars talked up the prospect in fight week that they could steal the thunder from the top of the bill.

Certainly, its opening rounds suggested it would live up to the hype, particularly after a brutal Adeleye jab cut Hrgovic above the right eye to leave him bloodied and bruised.

Yet after officials and medics cleared him to continue, the latter worked industriously to build the gap between himself and his foe, delivering an impressively robust work rate.

With his corner urging him to let his hands go in the second half, Adeleye sought to wrestle back momentum with his left hook, attempting to exploit his earlier damage.

A savage right from Hrgovic dropped him early in the eighth, and while the Briton responded with a grandstanding flurry of his own, his opponent proved implacable on his feet.

That was enough for the Croatian to see out the last two rounds with minimal fuss, and the gulf in points only served to illustrate his diligence and skill in a superlative performance.

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