Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic Preview April 5th, 2025
Joe Joyce of England is back in action this Saturday, April 5th when he takes on Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic in Manchester, England. The 10-round heavyweight tilt can be seen live in most nations on DAZN. Joyce, a former WBO Interim Champion, last fought in July when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Dereck Chisora while Hrgovic was stopped by Daniel Dubois due to severe cuts in the eighth round last June in a shot at the IBF Interim Title. It’s the only defeat on Hrgovic’s pro record.
Joyce vs Hrgovic Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Joe Joyce +300
- Filip Hrgovic -400
My Pick
The 39-year-old Joyce didn’t turn pro until late in 2017 after a fine amateur career which saw him win gold medals at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2015 European Games. He also took home a silver from the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the super-heavyweight division when he lost the gold-medal match to Tony Yoka of France. Joyce owns a pro record of 16-3 with 15 wins coming by way of knockout.
He stands 6-feet-6-inches tall with an 80-inch reach and it’s obvious he has some power in his fists as 93.7 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. However, he’s 1-3 in his last four fights. His opponents so far have been Chisora, Kash Ali, Zhilei Zhang (twice), former World Champion Joseph Parker, Christian Hammer, Carlos Takam, Daniel Dubois, Michael Wallisch, Bryant Jennings, Alexander Ustinov, former WBC World Champion Bermane Stiverne, Ian Lewison, Rudolf Jozic, Donnie Palmer, Lenroy Thomas, Ivica Bacurin, Iago Kiladze and Joe Hanks.
It’s a pretty solid list and each one of his opponents had a winning record. Joyce has also won several WBC and WBO minor belts as he captured the British, European and Commonwealth Titles when he halted young prospect Daniel Dubois in the 10th round in 2020. He also won the vacant WBA Continental Heavyweight Belt when he beat Hanks in 2018. His biggest win came against Joseph Parker in 2022 when he stopped him in the 11th round to win the WBO Interim Belt. He lost it in his next bout when he was stopped in the third round by Zhilei Zhang in the sixth round in April, 2023 and was halted in the third round by Zhang in a rematch four months later.
Joyce’s boxing skills haven’t had a chance to be showcased very often though as he has four first-round Ko’s as well as one in the second and two in the third and has boxed just 103 rounds since turning pro. The only times he’s gone the distance were against Chisora and Bryant Jennings, who lasted 12 rounds in 2019 but dropped a unanimous decision. Even though he was stopped twice by Zhang, Joyce owns a pretty good chin as Parker nailed him with some bombs in 2022 and he took them well. However, his eye worsened against Zhang round after round as Joyce absorbed some punishing jabs and left hands.
The 32-year-old Hrgovic enters the ring with a mark of 17-1 with 14 Ko’s and has gone just 82 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015. He measures 6-feet-6-inches tall with a reported 82-inch reach so matches Joyce in height and has a two-inch reach advantage. He’s also got impressive power in his fists as 82.4 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage. But until beating Zhilei Zhang by a controversial 12-round unanimous decision in 2022, he hadn’t taken on a legitimate contender as his previous wins were against the likes of Marko Radonjic, Rydell Booker, Pavel Sour, Tom Little, Sean Turner, Amir Mansour, Kevin Johnson, Gregory Corbin and Eric Molina.
The only three opponents to go the distance with him so far have been Johnson over eight rounds in 2018, Turner over eight rounds in the same year and Zhang over 12 rounds in August, 2022. Hrgovic’s first 12 knockouts came within the first five rounds and he stopped Demsey McKean in the 12th and final round in 2023. Hrgovic stopped Mansour in the third round in 2018 to take the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title and defended it three times. He then won the IBF International belt against Booker in 2020 and has defended it twice.
Hrgovic enjoyed a fine amateur career and won a bronze medal as a super heavyweight at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also reached the quarterfinals at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 World Amateur Championships and won the 2010 Youth World Championships as well as the 2015 European Championships. In addition, Hrgovic went 25-4 with 10 Ko’s in the World Series of Boxing from 2010 to 2015. His loss to Dubois was highly entertaining as they both landed numerous solid blows throughout the fight.
Prediction…
Joyce hasn’t looked very good in his last four fights as he was stopped twice by Zhang, dropped a decision to Chisora and was lethargic in his late KO over Kash Ali. He’ll definitely need to step it up against Hrgovic or will suffer another defeat. Considering Joyce’s age and his recent performances and seeing how Hrgovic let his hands go against Dubois, I expect both boxers to have their moments but believe Hrgovic should come out the winner here.
Hrgovic’s right hand and speed should be the difference.
Play Hrgovic -400 @ BetOnline.ag
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Filip Hrgovic betting • Joe Joyce betting