Hearn Expecting Filip Hrgovic vs Oleksandr Usyk Mandatory Fight Announcement

Eddie Hearn is anticipating the IBF to announce the mandatory heavyweight title bout. 

The Chairman of Matchroom Boxing Eddie Hearn who is also the promoter of Filip Hrgovic is expecting that the IBF will soon order the mandatory Heavyweight Title bout with Oleksandr Usyk. 

Last Saturday, Oleksandr Usyk defeated Daniel Dubois in the ninth round to retain the Unified World Heavyweight Title. Dubois was WBA’s mandatory challenger and now IBF’s mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic seems to be next in line. 

Currently, Oleksandr Usyk is preparing to fight Tyson Fury for the Undisputed Heavyweight Titles in early 2024. However, in order to do this Usyk would have to request IBF to make an exception. 

Filip Hrgovic is undefeated so far and won all of his 16 bouts. He won 13 of these bouts via KO. Hrgovic is coming off a 12th-round TKO win against Demsey McKean. Before that, he managed to defeat Zhilei Zhang via unanimous decision in August 2022. 

Eddie Hearn anticipates the announcement to come this week only. He also added that Tyson Fury is the only person who can easily get an exception, and since he already has a fight scheduled, it would be difficult for Usyk to get an exception. 

So, will the IBF order the fight this week?