Derek Chisora is backing Rico Verhoeven to beat IBF heavyweight champion Filip Hrgovic in a proposed fight, dismissing Hrgovic’s victory over Moses Itauma as the young challenger simply getting tired.

That prediction overlooks how much Verhoeven would be giving away in boxing experience, power and overall ability. His size helped him compete against Oleksandr Usykbut the 6’6″ Hrgovic would reduce that advantage while presenting a heavier punching threat.

The matchup has been discussed for the December 11 Tyson Fury–Anthony Joshua undercard in Cardiff, although no deal has been announced. Hrgovic’s IBF mandatory challenger, Frank Sanchez, remains an obstacle after already stepping aside for the Itauma fight.

“Hrgovic would lose that fight,” Chisora told Seconds Out. “Moses Itauma didn’t get beat, Moses Itauma beat himself.

“It’s not like Moses Itauma left that ring with a beatdown, he just got tired. Hrgovic was far off in rounds, he couldn’t even landed the punches, he [Moses] just got tired.

“Itauma didn’t come out of that ring and say, ‘oh my goodness, I got my a** whooped’.”

That dismissive excuse ignores how championship boxing actually works. Fatigue does not occur by accident. Blocking concussive punches, wrestling out of clinches, and constantly retreating from a relentless 245-pound puncher burns through stamina rapidly. Itauma learned the hard way that early success evaporates if you cannot sustain the pace.

Verhoeven suffered that exact fate against Usyk, wilting the second the Ukrainian dialed up the pressure in the eleventh round. Hrgovic makes that endurance deficit even more dangerous. Rico cannot rely on superior size against a fighter who matches his height and hits considerably harder. Verhoeven built a legendary kickboxing resume, but five-round bouts provide zero preparation for surviving twelve rounds against a seasoned Olympic medalist with proven late-round stopping power.

Hrgovic showed real vulnerability when Daniel Dubois stopped him, proving his chin is not invincible. The Croatian possesses vastly superior seasoning when it comes to operating inside a grueling boxing firefight. Verhoeven came apart as Usyk piled on clean punches in the championship rounds, revealing that kickboxing dominance does not translate to twelve-round punch resistance.

Chisora gladly points out Hrgovic’s defensive holes, yet he stays silent on how Rico survives his own glaring deficits. Between ring generalship, inside fighting, and raw professional boxing experience, Hrgovic holds every meaningful card. Verhoeven earned respect simply by going deep against Usyk, but dethroning an experienced heavyweight champion demands a reservoir of endurance the kickboxer has never possessed.

Gervonta Davis is set to return to action in the new year and ‘Tank’ may well do so in an immediate world title challenge, with one fighter willing to offering him a shot at his old belt under one condition.

Davis has held titles at super-featherweight and super-lightweight but was most recently the WBA lightweight champion, until his prolonged stretch of inactivity – since March 2025 – caused the Baltimore knockout artist to be stripped of his world title.

Instead, the 31-year-old has been named as the WBA’s ‘champion-in-recess’ in the 135lb division, with Floyd Schofield and Lucas Bahdi scheduled to compete for the full vacant WBA crown next weekend in Chicago.

Speaking ahead of that fight, Schofield told Fight Hub TV that he would be more than willing to defend the title against Davis, if he is able to overcome Bahdi and become the new lightweight world champion at the age of just 24 years old.

“I’m not going to lie. If Tank did want to come back and was like, ‘I want that fight and I want that belt back,’ I have no problem with it because he is the so-called boogeyman.

“Like I have always been saying, if you get Tank on your record, if you beat Tank, then there is not a lot that people can say.

“Until then, I am looking to collect all of the belts at 135lbs and to then go on to 140lbs.”

Schofield-Bahdi will take place at the Wintrust Arena on Saturday, October 10, with Ricardo Sandoval defending his unified WBC and WBA flyweight world titles against fellow Mexican Sergio Mendoza Cordova in the co-main event.

Either Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua will join Lennox Lewis as the second three-time heavyweight world champion from the UK when they collide in later this year, and ‘The Lion’ has now updated his prediction for the contest.

After prolonged negotiations and their respective ‘warm-up’ bouts against Mariusz Wach and Kristian PrengaFury and Joshua are finally set to enter the ring against each other. Wednesday’s launch press conference saw the two men come face to face for the first time, following what was a surprisingly friendly affair.

Having witnessed those fights back in July, Lewis admitted that he was favouring ‘The Gypsy King’ to come out on top in the long-awaited bout, believing his two most recent showings to be more impressive than those of Joshua, as per DAZN.

“Fury is closer but both are shadows of their former selves.I’dside with Fury,

“He showed me more in his two fights [against Arslanbek Makhmudov and Wach] than Joshua has recently. He boxed a YouTuber [Jake Paul]now boxed a guy [Prenga] who knocked him down twice and next faces Fury? That’s a big step up.”

However, at the launch press conference for the fight between the duo – which will now be for the WBA (Super) heavyweight world title – Lewis declared that the bout will be determined by punch accuracy.

“For me, the most accurate puncher out of the both of them [will win]. Tyson is an accurate puncher and ‘AJ’ throws a great one-two.

“He has caught many people with the one-two. That is his most accurate combination, to me.”

Fury-Joshua will take place at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on December 11, with Amir Khan now being linked to an appearance in the co-main event.