Filip Hrgovic Praises Unranked Heavyweight as Hardest Hitter Over Dubois, Zhang

Filip Hrgovic has faced many of the premier heavyweight boxers during his rise to the top, but one former foe particularly stood out to him.

Despite facing contenders like Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, and Zhilei Zhang, Hrgovic will never forget the shots he took from David Adeleye.

Hrgovic is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision win over Adeleye ahead of his main event bout with David Allen. He still praises the London native as the hardest puncher he has ever faced over Dubois, Zhang and Joyce.

"[David Adeleye] gave me the hardest punch I've ever received in my career," Hrgovic said, via DAZN. "He punched harder than Zhang, than Dubois, than anyone I faced... He got power. He don't throw a lot, but he definitely have a strong punch."

"He gave me the hardest punch I've received in my career!" That's some admission from Filip Hrgovic 👀🍿#AllenHrgovic | May 16 | Live on DAZN 🤳 pic.twitter.com/0PXjxc4yX1
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) May 14, 2026

The praise from Hrgovic is a feather in Adeleye's cap, considering the fights he has had with Dubois and Zhang, in particular. Zhang is the only fighter to ever knock Hrgovic down when an overhand right forced the 33-year-old's glove to touch the canvas in the opening round of their 2022 fight. Hrgovic ate several more big shots from Zhang, though he rallied to win a unanimous decision.

Likewise, Dubois never sent Hrgovic to the canvas, but he is the only fighter to have beaten the Croatian juggernaut. Dubois hurt and wobbled him on several occasions before an open wound enticed the ringside doctor to stop the IBF title fight in the eighth round.

Those two fights still do not compare in Hrgovic's mind to the tough early rounds he endured against Adeleye. 'Big D' clobbered Hrgovic with several big hooks early in the fight and seemed well on his way to landing a knockdown before fatigue eventually got to him and caused the fight to slip away. Hrgovic ultimately won the fight on the scorecards to hand Adeleye the second loss of his career.

Filip Hrgovic prepares for another main event with David Allen

The next fighter to potentially top Adeleye in Hrgovic's book is David Allen, who challenges the former title challenger in Yorkshire. The fan-favorite Allen returns for his fourth consecutive fight in his home country against arguably the biggest-name opponent of his career.

Allen is just 4-3 in his last seven fights, losing fights to Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frazer Clarke and Johnny Fisher to prevent himself from entering the title picture. Yet, a win over Hrgovic, who is ranked as high as No. 2 by the WBO, would vault him to the top of the heavyweight division.

Owning an 80 percent knockout rate, Allen has the power to potentially test Hrgovic's hittable chin. Should that happen, it would rival Zak Chelli's recent win over David Morrell as one of the biggest upsets of the year.

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