Filip Hrgović


Filip Hrgović is a Croatian professional boxer. He is best known for winning a gold medal at the 2015 European Amateur Boxing Championships and bronze at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He possesses an amateur record of 74 wins and 15 losses.

Early life

Filip was born on 4 June 1992 in Zagreb, Croatia, to Petar and Iva Hrgović. His father, who was born in Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina works for Croatian Motorways, while his mom, a native of the Croatian capital Zagreb is a graduate in kinesiology and was focused on raising Filip and his four other siblings.
Hrgović recalls being overweight as a child, even earning the nickname "fatty" along the way. He would often end up in trouble and be reprimanded for it.
Filip's first sport was basketball at age 8, which he took up as a means to lose weight. He even managed to win the national championship with his club Dubrava but was forced to retire due to back and knee injuries. He then took up swimming, which would also last only a short period of time.
He started boxing at the age of 13 in the boxing club Leonardo under the tutelage of coach Leonardo Pijetraj in his home district of Sesvete in Zagreb. His mother wasn't overly happy with Filip's decision to take up boxing as a profession, but his mind was already made up.

Amateur career

Hrgović was boxing for BK Leonardo under Leonard Pijetraj.
Filip was 6 times Croatian Senior Boxing Champion, once runner up.
He was also WSB Season I Champion and two times as member of Astana Arlans team, with a 26–4 record.
He was named March Boxer of the Month in 2015 by AIBA.
Hrgović was the man credited for the cancellation of the David Haye vs Tyson Fury fight in 2013, after he cut Haye in a sparring session. He was also Kubrat Pulev's sparring partner for his fight against Wladimir Klitschko in 2014.
Filip was a boxing bronze medallist in the men's super heavyweight category at the 2016 Summer Olympics after being narrowly defeated by Tony Yoka of France in the semi-finals.
After Olympics, he was awarded Order of Danica Hrvatska with face of Franjo Bučar by President of Croatia, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović, for extraordinary sports success and winning a medal at Olympics, also for promotion of sports and the reputation of the Croatia in the world.

Professional career

On 30 September 2017, Hrgović started his professional career with a first-round stoppage victory over Raphael Zumbano of Brazil. Hrgović signed a deal with Sauerland Promotions following his debut.
Hrgović won all five of his matches in 2018, and was shortlisted for The Ring magazine Prospect of the Year award.
For his sixth fight, he fought in his native Zagreb for the first time as a professional, defeating veteran heavyweight Amir Mansour. Mansour tried to fight back, but Hrgović was dominant throughout the bout, culminating with a spectacular third-round knockout for the Croatian.
After that, he faced another veteran in Kevin Johnson, also in his native Zagreb. Johnson, a former world challenger for the WBC title, lived up to his reputation of being hard to stop, and took Hrgović the distance. Despite that, the hometown favorite would end up winning the bout by a wide unanimous decision.
Then followed two fast knockout wins against Gregory Corbin in his US debut, and Mario Heredia in his first fight in Mexico.
On 7 December 2019, on the undercard of Ruiz Jr. vs. Joshua II, Hrgović, then ranked #9 by the WBA and IBF, and #11 by the WBC, had what is perhaps his most notable win to date, a third-round knockout against Éric Molina. He dominated the fight from the first bell, dropping Molina twice; once in the first round and again in the second, before finally closing out with a third knockdown in the third round, from which Molina wasn't able to get up.

Titles

Professional

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
10Win10–0 Éric MolinaKO3, 2:037 Dec 2019 Diriyah Arena, Diriyah, Saudi ArabiaRetained WBC International heavyweight title
9Win9–0 Mario HerediaKO3, 0:3324 Aug 2019 Centro de Usos Multiples, Hermosillo, MexicoRetained WBC International heavyweight title
8Win8–0 Gregory CorbinKO1, 1:0025 May 2019 MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, US
Retained WBC International heavyweight title
7Win7–0 Kevin JohnsonUD88 Dec 2018 Dražen Petrović Basketball Hall, Zagreb, Croatia
6Win6–0 Amir MansourKO3, 3:008 Sep 2018 Zagreb Arena, Zagreb, CroatiaWon vacant WBC International heavyweight title
5Win5–0 Filiberto TovarTKO4, 1:509 Jun 2018 Postpalast, Munich, Germany
4Win4–0 Sean Turner824 Feb 2018 Arena Nürnberger Versicherung, Nuremberg, Germany
3Win3–0 Tom LittleTKO4, 2:1527 Jan 2018 Arēna Rīga, Rīga, Latvia
2Win2–0 Pavel Sour1, 2:5927 Oct 2017 Sport- und Kongresshalle, Schwerin, Germany
1Win1–0 Raphael Zumbano Love1, 1:4030 Sep 2017 Arēna Rīga, Riga, Latvia

Amateur boxing record

Orders and awards