Dubois Says His Hrgovic Win Aged Better Than Anyone Admits

Daniel Dubois wants the receipts. Ahead of his October 17 rematch with Fabio Wardley, the WBO champion used a press conference to relitigate an old win — his June 2024 stoppage of Filip Hrgovic — arguing it's been badly underrated. Dubois, now 23-3 with 22 knockouts, halted Hrgovic on cuts in a fight where the Croatian had early success before things unravelled.

The timing isn't random. Hrgovic just pulled off one of the year's bigger upsets, wearing down and stopping unbeaten prospect Moses Itauma last month to grab the IBF belt. Dubois watched that same durability up close two years ago — and reckons he took it further. He said he could feel the heart Hrgovic showed against Itauma, but claimed he broke the man down more completely, and that Hrgovic was effectively looking for a way out against him.

The Case For Dubois

It's a bold framing, but the results have quietly backed it up. Hrgovic has since strung together four wins in five fights, chewing through British opposition in Joe Joyce, David Adeleye, Dave Allen and now Itauma. The only man to beat him in that stretch remains Dubois. Hrgovic has blamed illness for that night, which conveniently undercuts the credit Dubois feels he's owed.

Dubois has since climbed to the top of the heavyweight pile himself. He became a two-time champion in May, dropping Fabio Wardley twice early before turning the fight around and forcing referee Howard Foster to wave it off in the eleventh — a genuine fight-of-the-year candidate. Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KO) now gets an immediate crack at revenge next month.

Where The Belts Sit

The heavyweight map is fractured across a new generation. Dubois holds the WBO, Hrgovic the IBF, Agit Kabayel the WBC at 27-0 (19 KO), and Murat Gassiev the WBA Regular strap. Hrgovic's British tour is over for now — Cuba's Frank Sanchez (26-1, 19 KO), fresh off a second-round knockout of Richard Torrez, is his mandatory challenger.

The endgame is obvious. If Sanchez gets past Hrgovic and Dubois handles Wardley again, both men sit under the Queensberry umbrella — which puts a 2027 unification and a Dubois-Hrgovic rematch firmly in play. This time, presumably, without the illness caveat.