Hrgovic showed remarkable heart and courage on August 29, outlasting Moses Itauma and stopping the 21-year-old in the ninth round of a memorable fight at London’s O2 Arena. The dramatic win earned the Croatian the IBF heavyweight title. On Saturday night, Hrgovic, ranked No. 4 by The Ring at heavyweight, returned to the scene of his greatest triumph to watch the eagerly awaited rematch between Dubois and Fabio Wardley. Dubois floored Wardley within the opening 20 seconds with a tremendous right hand and ruthlessly pursued him until the fight was stopped in the second round.

When Hrgovic met him in June 2024, Dubois absorbed everything he threw and eventually forced an eight-round stoppage on cuts.

Seeing Dubois settle his rivalry with Wardley so clinically didn’t diminish Hrgovic’s appetite for a rematch. 

“I think Wardley was still damaged from the first fight. It was too soon for him to fight and he didn’t look good since the first bell, and I’m not impressed with the win,” Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KOs) told DAZN. “I’m the best champion out there. I’m the future undisputed heavyweight champion. I’ll smash Dubois in a rematch, and I’m coming for all the belts.”

As Hrgovic, 34, stood in the presentation area at the arena, the huge video screen behind him displayed a lineup of every major contender in the division. 

Proudly representing his homeland in a red and white checked jacket and clearly reveling in his status as a champion, Hrgovic slowly worked his way down the line. 

Claiming to have never seen Justis Huni fight, Hrgovic even offered some advice to Efe Ajagba: “This guy doesn’t know how to box. He should go to kickboxing or something,” Hrgovic said.

“This guy is slow, but he got a great jab,” he said, looking up at a photo of Dubois (24-3, 23 KOs), The Ring’s No. 1-ranked heavyweight. “I must admit that.”

Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will contest for the WBA “super” title when they finally meet in the main event of a Ring show at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on December 11, but Murat Gassiev (34-2, 27 KOs) holds the “regular” WBA title. 

“He’s a midget from Russia,” Hrgovic said of the latter, bluntly writing off The Ring’s No. 9 heavyweight and former unified cruiserweight champion. “He doesn’t belong here. He needs to go back to cruiserweight.”

Agit Kabayel (27-0, 19 KOs) has been searching for a major fight since he broke down and stopped China’s Zhilei Zhang in February 2025. 

The undefeated German has quickly become a major draw, and around 42,000 tickets have already sold for his WBC title defense against Nelson Hysa on November 28.

If he beats the Albanian at Düsseldorf’s ESPRIT Arena, Kabayel, ranked No. 2 by The Ring, will look for a unification fight in 2027.

“Kabayel is a normal fighter. I’ll play with him,” Hrgovic said. “He’s tough, he’s brave, but his style match is the best for me, and I’ll make as easy job for me.”

Eventually, Hrgovic glanced up at his own likeness. 

“This m——f——r is tough,” he said. “The best chin. The best-looking guy. He can talk. He can fight.”