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Elite heavyweight prospect reveals he will take on Irish fighter next week


One of the hottest prospects in world boxing has announced that he will face Irish opposition next weekend.

Heavyweight Filip Hrgović won 2016 Olympic bronze and 2015 European gold in the vest and has recently turned over with German giant Sauerland Promotions. The Croatian 25-year-old has raced to 3(3)-0 against strong early opposition and is set to take a step up on Saturday February 24th against Dublin’s Sean Turner [12(8)-1(0)].

While Croatian news-source 24sata claim that the fight is yet to be officially signed, Hrgović has announced the bout on German television channel RTL.

The bout is slated to take place at the Arena Nuernberger on the Callum Smith v Juergen Braehmer undercard. The headline fight is the second semi-final of the super middleweight World Boxing Super Series, with the winner set to take on the winner of this weekend’s bout between WBA champion George Groves and Chris Eubank Jr.

The Zagreb big man debuted against Raphael Zumbano Love with a first-round knockout last September and has followed this up with stoppages over unbeaten Czech Pavel Sour and English puncher Tom Little just last month. Hrgović is being moved fast partly thanks to his extensive record in the World Series of Boxing where he fought 30 times, winning 26 of these bouts.

Hrgović said that “I expect a real war in the ring. The Irish have a lot of heart, but Croatians have even more heart. This will be a surprise for Turner.”

2014 Irish senior champion Turner closed out 2017 with a massive away win in Switzerland, upsetting the odds to become just the second person after former champ David Haye to defeat Arnold Gjergjaj.

The win has seen him jump through the ranks as well as entering the European Union ratings where he currently sits at #14. Due to having less than eight bouts, Hrgović is unranked.

The Shankill slugger has mentioned having a fight in Germany recently on social media, though has not mentioned an opponent.

New tracksuits for my fight in 2 weeks in Germany #Dogsbokox

A post shared by Sean ONE PUNCH Turner (@kingbigsexyboxer) on

Irish-Boxing.com were unable to confirm the fight with Turner due to his management company’s boycott of Irish media.

dpg

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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