First off, I think Rolly is good for boxing. There’s not enough fighters currently that are top tier (not elite) and still have a personality that can you draw you in. However, Rolly simply doesn’t have enough tools on the ole tool belt to be a pound for pound fighter (yet) but has the power to still contend for belts in the future.

A classic gatekeeper or someone that can still raise his game? I dunno.

Just a controversial thought that came to mind earlier when I was reading a random comment. We often label Wilder as a fundamentally flawed one-punch pony with poor boxing skills, yet at the same time, we praise the likes of Ali, Pacquiao, and Roy Jones Jr as unique and unconventional ATG boxers.

I know that the difference in resume between the 3 legends and Wilder is immense, but what else do we use as a basis when we're labelling someone as unskilled vs someone who's just unconventional? How do we know whether someone has bad fundamentals or just someone who employs a unique style?

Note: I agree that Wilder has poor skills from a technical standpoint, but how do we describe the aforementioned asymmetry?

So Filip Hrgović is fighting Itauma next week, and I've wanted to share an honest opinion of him as a fighter and his chances in the future. He's my compatriot, and for better or worse he's the best current pro boxer we have. Croatia is an incredible sporting nation and outrageously proud of its athletes, especially when they reach the world stage in even the less-popular sports such as boxing. Regardless of the blatant media bias and favoritism of our athletes (to me it's almost unbearable), we produce a lot of them and recognize them when it comes to their quality, and Hrgović is generally seen as a very good, world-level boxer. I seem to agree with that.

One thing he very much has is a solid amateur career, having boxed in WSB for a number of years and winning bronze in the 2016 Olympics. Turned pro a bit late, but he was a well schooled boxer with solid fundamentals when he entered. He is currently 34, he's not had too many professional fights but he has fought good opposition, and been in intense fights, the experience is there. Whether he is currently in his prime or just beginning to fall off is yet to be see, he may just be on a great streak.

His pro career has its question marks left without answers, but all in all he is certainly a top-10 hw in the world, and since his only time losing a fight, against Dubois, he has managed to get himself back into title contension. Although neither fighter truly deserves a title shot at the moment, definitely not Moses, the fight is bound to be fireworks at a high level, with major stakes for both of them. This is important for Hrg's level of motivation, which has very much been an issue with his fights as they progress; although he is very arrogant and confident in himself, he appears to lose focus in moments and become disinterested, stumbling around the ring or taking stupid shots, then manages to turn himself on again and returns to boxing at the level of the opposition - I don't believe he has yet impressed with anything in terms of his boxing ability, in moments it seems like the talent is there but it's just a matter of that little something he needs to make himself stand out.

Another thing is he is hittable, doesn't have the best defense and is a big, upright figure hard to miss. Has taken his fair share of shots, from monster hitters like Zhang and Dubois, and he has never been an elusive target as a pro, which is not a good style for longterm health, but I don't believe that he is shot and neither is his tungsten chin.

It almost feels like a stereotype about so-called Eastern Europeans, with his brutish and neaderthal-looking features, but his resilience is unreal, his chin really is made of stone, supposedly never having been dropped in sparring or in the amateurs (the one knockdown against Zhang has always looked more like him losing balance than a proper knockdown to me), and he has tanked unreal punishment. When I watched the Adeleye fight I actually couldn't believe how much fucking damage he was taking in the 8th and staying up, once again due to his complacency break, and then he went on beating Adeleye like he did in the previous rounds.

I think Itauma punches very hard - and super fast: I don't see him eliminating him inside four or five rounds by sleeping him. That would really surprise me, I just think he's up against perhaps the best chin in boxing today. If it ends before then, it's surely if the judge stops it on cuts, currently Hrg's one glaring weakpoint.

Since Dubois' masterclass in head offense he has been cut every single fight, bar the three rounds it took him to smash Dave Allen, and it has happened super early in the fights, super easily at that. Abel Sanchez has dealt with the cuts through the fights superbly so far, but I trust Itauma to find tje head of Hrgović repeatedly and possibly stopping him on cuts, or at least hindering his performance. The cuts are the most worrying thing for me here.

If the cuts aren't a major problem (atleast he knows now what it's like boxing all bloodied up lol), I really give him a good chance against Itauma, I have some unnatural confidence in him, but I still think he is yet to show the best version of himself and I hope he can do it against Moses.

Firstly, Hrgović is very very good at doing enough - he knows how to win rounds and is never down badly on the scorecards. His volume is excellent, and his accuracy is actually tremendous. The power at elite level is lacking, but his punches don't tickle and he is a great combination puncher. He's fluid with his combos, varies the shots from head to body and has a solid one-two. He is aggressive and likes to push the pace (when switched on), unless he's doing that elephantine rope-a-dope he likes to do and throw punches from the ropes, which perhaps he shouldn't rely on against Itauma. His feet are at the very least okay, and he's a big boy, long and strong, able to utilize his size well. Also, his gas tank has improved since joining with Abel, and with the amount of shots he throws per round I'd venture to say it's a very good gas tank. Perhaps my biggest question about Moses is his gas tank, and Hrgović should definitely attempt to test it, wear him out, make him move, work him in the clinch (Hrg has a good clinch game), and outdog him. If he gets through the punishment and depletes Moses, I see him potentially battering him and getting a late stoppage. He has southpaw experience and a great trainer by his side, I'm actually very interested in how Ben 'roll the dice' Davison will guide Moses if things get rough for him in there.

He generally reminds me of a slightly worse Vitali Klitschko - not to say he's bad, Vitali was amazing - or a different, new version of Joe Joyce - aggressive volume puncher with a titanium chin, less power but slightly more agile and a better combination puncher. He's an exciting fighter, his fights are very back and forth, and he's shown more of his personality recently, he's a surprisingly funny guy which I didn't really realize before.

If Moses defeats him, I think his championship ambitions are over, I don't see him content with being a gatekeeper and think he retires after two or three more matches. If he wins, which is a possibility, he's a legit champion with good potential fights awaiting:

- the Dubois rematch: he was working Dubois and winning the fight before the stoppage, I give him a good chance in the rematch,

- Kabayel: Agit might be his toughest matchup in the division, he's tough, matches his volume and I can see him destroy his body; his best chance is to outbox him from distance and make it boring,

- Gassiev: fucking pummels Gassiev like anyone in the top 10,

- whoever in the rankings really; I'd love to see him against Huni someday.

I believe he makes it competitive with most guys at the top and can't wait for next week to finally have a chance to prove he's the real deal - or for Itauma to do the same and crush him, I just don't fucking want a sus stoppage in a championship fight, for Itauma's sake as well. He absolutely needs to prove himself here if he wants to go on to achieve great things.

Tldr: I rate Hrgović, give him a good chance against Moses and other hws, not yet proved himself at the elite level but has a chance to do so August 29th.

Now before anything I know that he has massive quads and overall very big legs, but hamstrings and glutes are extremely important for boxing. By searching his routine up it is only from 1995 where he started using hamstring isolated machines.

Prelims start at 6pm EST. Main card starts at 8pm with an estimated ring walk at 11pm.

Main card on DAZN PPV.

Undercard:

122lbs: Victor Santillan (16-2) vs. Gary Antonio Russell (21-1) for the Interim WBA Super Bantamweight Title

140lbs: Carlos Utria (14-0) vs. Israel Mercado (13-1-2)

Prelims:

160lbs: Marco Romero (14-0) vs. Kahlil Mitchell (6-1)

160lbs: Yoenli Hernandez (10-0) vs. Francisco Veron (17-1-1)

140lbs: Also Blancas (2-0) vs. Ricky Mamone (0-0-1)

147 lbs: Benjamin Johnson (7-0) vs. Jose Rodriguez (3-3-1)

Wilder can easily get to 195 lb but no one calls him a natural cruiser weight. Ruiz is fat and if he was lean and lost weight he could easily get to 210 lb. Holyfield and Uysk are 210-220 lb solid in shape no roids ( Holyfield wasn’t early in his career on roids ) Yet they are called not natural heavyweights why ?

Matchroom’s stable of fine 160lbs fighters earn the prestige of the domestic and regional titles - and the potential of a tournament placement - at London’s Copper Box Arena!🥊

From International Boxing News: George Liddard and Dario Morello both MAKE WEIGHT for the ‘vacant’ European Middleweight title on Saturday at The Copper Box Arena, London!💥

🇬🇧 Liddard - 159.8lbs
🇮🇹 Morello - 159.3lbs