FILIP HRGOVIC has pulled out of his IBF heavyweight eliminator against Zhang Zhilei after his father died.
That scrap was one of the most intriguing on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez’s WBA super light-heavyweight clash against Dmitry Bivol.
Filip Hrgovic has pulled out of his fight against Zhang Zhilei after his dad died
Zhang Zhilei was set for an IBF eliminator – but is now scrabbling for an opponent
Boxing Scene reports that Hrgovic Sr died early in April and that the Croatian has been “unable to concentrate on training” leading to his withdrawal.
The winner of that fight would have been the mandatory challenger for the IBF heavyweight belt – currently held by Oleksandr Usyk.
The Ukrainian is scheduled for a rematch against Anthony Joshua after easily beating the Brit on points in September to win the IBF belt, as well as the WBO and WBA titles.
Zhilei is still set to fight on the Canelo undercard, with an opponent being drafted in late notice.
Read More Sport
Canelo, meanwhile, was last in the ring in November when he knocked out Caleb Plant in the 11th round to win the undisputed super-middleweight titles.
But now Alvarez is challenging at 175lbs again, where he last campaigned at in November 2019 against Sergey Kovalev, winning the WBO strap in the process.
Bivol represents a tougher task than Kovalev, however, as he’s a much fresher fighter with some solid wins, including Joe Smith Jr and Jean Pascal, on his record.
The Russian beat Umar Salamov on points in his last outing over four months ago.
Canelo said: “[Dmitry’s] a really good boxer. He’s a solid champion at 175. It’s a dangerous fight. I like it, I love that kind of challenge.
“I really like it. But, I believe in my abilities, and I’m strong too. So, I’m confident in that, but it’s gonna be a really good fight.
“I like the idea to be undisputed at 175. That’s what I like, but you never know.”
