Heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic let the media know today that he views his opponent, David Adeleye, as food for him in their bout on DAZN PPV at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) sees nothing special in Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) and believes he should have been disqualified in his last fight for hitting his opponent on the break.
The Massive Gulf in Fighter Experience
There’s a massive gulf in experience between Hrgovic and the British prospect Adeleye. The promoters for this event are throwing Adeleye in with Hrgovic, hoping he gets lucky due to his punching power.
“I suppose this is a jump up in levels because he’s obviously better than the opponents I’ve been in the ring with so far, but he’s a human being,” said David Adeleye during today’s final press conference, talking about his fight against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday. “I think Saturday night is going to be a good night for the fans. Adeleye got all upset when the moderator told him that Hrgovic had said in an interview that he was just a “walk in the park,” and that beating him would be just a mere formality.
You can’t blame Hrgovic for believing this is easy work for him. Adeleye isn’t a true contender, as he’s never beaten anyone notable during his six-year professional career. He stepped up once against a world-class opponent, Fabio Wardley, and was knocked out in the seventh round.
Adeleye looked timid under fire from Fabio and had nothing left in the gas tank after four rounds. All the muscle that Adeleye carries around on his physique isn’t conducive to fighting more than three rounds. He gets tired after three rounds and resorts to using roughhouse tactics. We saw a lot of that in his fights against Wardley and Jeamie Tshikeva. As an amateur, Adeleye only had one fight.
Hrgovic is a much better fighter with actual amateur experience and has fought far superior opposition as a pro. The only reason he’s getting the opportunity to fight Filip is that the promoters of this event have many of their fighters.
“Saturday night, I don’t got to sell the fight. What am I, second on the card? It’s not about me. On Saturday night, everyone is going to see what’s going on,” said Adeleye.
Adeleye’s Controversial Knockout of Tshikeva
“Man, I had a million nights just like this. So, let’s get down to business. Do you know what I mean?” said Hrgovic. “He said everything. We’ll see on Saturday. I think it was against the rules. He [Adeleye] should have been disqualified for that knockout,” said Filip when asked about his thoughts on Adeleye’s controversial knockout of Jeamie Tshikeva last April.
The incident involved the referee yelling, ‘Break in the sixth round, then pulling down one of Tshikeva’s arms. Adeleye took advantage of it by clocking the unprepared Tshikeva with a left hook, sending him to the canvas. Tshikeva got up but was badly hurt and was dropped once more by Adeleye, resulting in the fight being stopped. The contest took place in Manchester, England.
“We are here now, and let’s do it,” said Hrgovic. “I feel very confident, very strong, and I’m coming to destroy this guy.”
