‘This is not high-class pugilistic action, but we’re getting a fight’ – DAZN announcer Adam Smith summed up Filip Hrgovic vs Joe Joyce perfectly in Manchester on Saturday night.
We expected brutal warfare in the trenches when these two heavyweight boxing behemoths met in centre ring, and that is exactly what we got in an entertaining 10-rounder which neither man could afford to lose.
With both coming off damaging losses (Joyce three in his last four bouts), this was last chance saloon for two once feared stars with world title aspirations. One would get back on the track to potential glory, the other would be heading for the wilderness at elite level.
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In the end it was Joyce who came up short, with ‘The Juggernaut’ again being derailed as Hrgovic (now 18-1 with 14 wins inside distance) claimed a unanimous decision by scores of 97-93, 96-95 and 98-92. You can watch the highlights at the bottom of this page – well worth 8 minutes of your weekend time.
The Croatian had taken this bout at short notice, getting the call when Joyce’s original opponent Dillian Whyte was forced to pull out with a hand injury. It was a golden opportunity, and ‘El Animal’ was clearly ready, coming in at a relatively trim 250lbs at Friday’s weigh-in.
Punch stats a grim tale for Joyce
Hrgovic knew heading into this bout that he would not need to go looking for Joyce, that he would be there to hit. And indeed he was.
Once the unstoppable force of heavyweight boxing, Joe still retains the incredible punch resistance and granite chin that somehow keeps him upright when others would crumple to the canvas. But that is not necessarily always a good thing, especially at the age of 39.
Compubox punch stats showed Hrgovic landed 253 punches in total, but astonishingly some 206 of them were power shots. He was hitting home with more than 20 power shots per round and seemingly could not miss with the brutal overhand right which regularly thudded off the granite head of Joyce.
Despite being cut badly over the left eye early and being forced to weather some game Joyce rallies, Hrgovic threw the classier shots all night – connecting with 55% of that huge power shot output. Round after round, he kept on blasting Joyce with that right hand, but somehow ‘The Juggernaut’ stayed on his feet. Joe by comparison was just 30% with his power punches and landing only 14 per round.
The fact Hrgovic hardly threw a jab after Round 3 says much – firstly he didn’t need to set anything up, Joyce was there and waiting to eat more leather. There was very little defence from Joe, he kept on coming forward and taking whatever was thrown at him just to get close to ‘El Animal’.
What is next for Hrgovic and Joyce?
This was very much a crossroads fight for these two men, and in the aftermath it appears they are indeed headed in very different directions.
For Hrgovic it was the win he needed to get his career back on track after that damaging first pro loss to IBF heavyweight king Daniel Dubois last June. He remains a threat in the division, and can at least get back to contending for a world title shot.
For Joyce, love him as we do, the road appears to be somewhat less appealing. Now 16-4 – with all four of those defeats coming in his last five fights – his future at the very top table of heavyweight boxing looks bleak. His style makes that future even more bleak as every fight he is involved in becomes a slugfest. Wonderful to watch, but painful when you are on the receiving end of most of it.
At one time Joe could and would walk through anybody – remember how he broke the will and the bodies of Dubois and Joseph Parker? At that time it looked like literally no man could stop him. Well now, clearly, many can. Time in the heavyweight division, as in life, waits for no man.
