Hrgović ‘Took £5 Million From My Hands’. David Haye Says Croatia Is Now Home to a World Champion
Translated from Croatian and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.
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- David Haye said Filip Hrgović deserved to win the IBF heavyweight title and praised his resilience and fighting style.
- Hrgović once injured Haye during sparring before a planned fight with Tyson Fury, forcing that bout to be canceled.
- Haye also said Moses Itauma had speed and technique but lacked experience in the later rounds.
David Haye still remembers the sparring session that helped cancel his planned fight with Tyson Fury. In 2013, Filip Hrgović, then a 21-year-old Croatian sparring partner, hit Haye so hard that his eyebrow opened badly and the fight never took place.
Haye now speaks about Hrgović with admiration, despite joking that the Croatian took around £5 million from his hands. He called Hrgović a warrior who had not received a proper opportunity because he lacked a major promoter.
Hrgović is a warrior who has not received a proper opportunity because he did not have a major promoter.
The former world champion said Hrgović could absorb punishment, keep moving forward and remain fearless under pressure. Haye recalled that Hrgović caused him problems in sparring and said the boxer showed the same persistence against Deontay Wilder.
I am happy that he won the title because he deserved it.
Haye celebrated Hrgović’s title as a victory for Croatian boxing. He said Hrgović had always possessed a strong chin, pointing to the punishment he endured against Zhang, but added that the resilience proved even greater than he expected.
He also assessed Moses Itauma, saying the younger boxer had technique, reflexes, speed and movement but did not yet understand how to box in the later rounds. Haye argued that even a knockout victory over Hrgović might have encouraged Itauma to believe he could keep winning easily until he met another dangerous opponent.
It is also great for boxing that Croatia has a world heavyweight champion.
About this summary
Originally published by Večernji List in Croatian. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.
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