Undefeated Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean goes up against unbeaten IBF mandatory challenger from Croatia, Filip Hrgovic on Saturday, August 12 at The O2 Arena in London, England. The pair squares off in the scheduled for 12 rounds bout, serving as the co-feature to Anthony Joshua’s calsh with Robert Helenius.
Boxing fans can watch the event live stream on DAZN.
McKean (22-0, 14 KOs) faces Hrgovic (15-0, 12 KOs) for a shot at Ukraine’s unified WBA, WBO and IBF world champion Oleksandr Usyk. In his previous outing last October in South Brisbane, the 32-year-old native of Ipswich, Queensland knocked out Patrick Korte in the third-round and landed the IBF Intercontinental belt.
“I’ve been back in the UK since December and been in the gym since January,” Demsey McKean said at the pre-fight press conference. “We were looking to fight in May and it got pushed back a bit, but it’s good that we got the date to hone in on and a blessing in disguise as we got more time with Tony Sims to learn, he is one of the best coaches in the world and it shows it with the stable of fighters he has, and I’m looking to put it all into play on Saturday.”
“I wake up every morning and tell myself: 36 minutes is all it takes to change my life. There have been bigger upsets in heavyweight boxing, and I think that this is a very even fight. He waffles on about ‘who has he knocked out that I haven’t knocked out?’ Well, who has he decisively beaten? He only has Zhilei Zhang and that was a controversial decision, so we have similar CVs as each other. He’s a good fighter, I just think I have the tools to beat him and give him a hell of a night. I have good footwork, good head movement, hand-speed, punch selection and good power.”
“I’m just excited, I think he’s going to bring out the best in me, he’s a good contender and i can’t wait for that.”
‘I don’t see how he can beat me’
The 2016 Summer Olympics bronze medalist Hrgovic last fought a year ago in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he scored a unanimous decision against Zhilei Zhang. Zagreb’s 31-year-old said “it’s one thing to be confident, but another to be delusional”.
“Thank you for this opportunity, it’s great for me, I haven’t fought for a year, so I am happy to be back in the ring and one fight away from fighting for a world title,” Filip Hrgovic said. “I am very excited, well prepared, and ready to rock and roll.”
“I am glad the fight with Zhang happened, I didn’t look very well, but I know that was my worst night, but I beat a good fighter, you saw what he did to Joe Joyce, he showed he’s a top ten Heavyweight and on my worst night I beat him. That’s good that I had that performance and people can underestimate me, because I know that I can do much better and I didn’t take this fight with Demsey lightly and I am ready for anything.”
“We will see – anything is possible in boxing and life. But I don’t see how he can beat me. He’s had 22 fights before, but I don’t see anything special in his game and as I said before, it’s one thing to be confident, but another to be delusional.”
In Australia, Joshua vs Helenius airs live on Sunday, August 13.
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