Joyce Vs. Hrgovic, A Battle For Relevance: ‘I’m Going To Win,’ Joyce Predicts

Joe Joyce predicts he will defeat heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic in their 10-round headliner this Saturday, April 5th, live on DAZN at 2:00 p.m. ET/11:00 p.m. PT from the Co-Op Live Arena in Manchester, England.

Neither fighter can afford to suffer another loss if they want to stay in the hunt for a world title shot.  Hrgovic, 32, was knocked out in the eighth round by Daniel Dubois last June in Riyadh in a fight in which he was the favorite to win.

Hrgovic was brought in as a substitute after Dillian Whyte pulled out of the fight with Joyce due to an injury. This is a tough replacement for Joyce, and it doesn’t look good for him.

‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce (16-3, 13 KOs) has a 1-3 record in his last four fights and has slipped out of the top 15 rankings after his latest defeat against Derek Chisora on July 27th last year. Joe’s performance in that fight was one of the worst of his career, as he looked slow at 281 lbs.

Weight Watch

Joyce doesn’t appear to have trimmed down for Saturday’s fight against replacement opponent Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KOs), which could be bad news for him. In Joyce’s last three fights, he’s weighed in the 280s, and that’s too much weight for him because he’s too slow carrying that kind of size. He needs to be in the 250s, but that doesn’t look like it’s going t happen.

In 2013, Joyce defeated Hrgovic by a five-round split decision in the World Series of Boxing. However, he was much younger, slimmer, and faster than now.

“He’s quite highly rated, and it’s a name that will spring me back up to the top,” said Joe Joyce to Queensberry about his fight against contender Filip Hrgovic this Saturday, April 5th, in Manchester, England. “The bookies don’t always have it right. Let’s see. It’s a great fight,” said ‘The Juggernaut’ Joyce when asked why Hrgovic has been made the favorite despite coming off a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois.

Hrgovic is ranked #6 IBF, #6 WBA, and #6 WBC. After the way he looked in his loss to Dubois, he’s probably going to have to focus on getting in a position to fight in a world title eliminator to become a mandatory. None of the champions will give Hrgovica a world title shot in a voluntary defense because he’s too dangerous.

Round Two

“It’s not the best situation, but it’s a great recovery there,” said Joyce about his thoughts on Dillian Whyte pulling out of their fight. “Yeah, it’s a shame what happened to his finger, but that can happen in boxing.”

Whyte still would have been a really tough fight for this version of Joyce, but more winnable than going up against Hrgovic. That’s a bad matchup for Joyce unless he can find the Fountain of Youth.

“I’m familiar with his stature, his style, and who he’s training with,” said Joyce about Hrgovic. “I’ve got a good idea of what to do and how to beat him. It was a great performance, and I aim to do the same again,” said Joyce about his five-round split decision win over Hrgovic in the World Series of Boxing in 2013.

“We’ve had fights, we’ve learned, and we’re going to get a great fight. There’s some history there, but I’m going to win.”