Credit: Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Filip Hrgovic vows to take his opponent’s soul on Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte undercard

Originally posted on Bloody Knockout | By Harvey Burton | Last updated Aug 1, 2025 9:55 AM ET

Filip Hrgovic seeks a destructive finish on the undercard of Dillian Whyte’s riskiest fight to date.

Dillian Whyte has been written off by many, despite his years of experience at a high level in the heavyweight division, as he takes on Moses Itauma in Saudi Arabia on August 16th.

Lawrence Okolie predicts Itauma will KO Whyte, whilst even Whyte’s old coach, Mark Tibbs, believes Itauma will beat ‘The Bodysnatcher’.

Whilst the boxing world is occupied with the main event, which will be a good indicator of Itauma’s current level in the sport, there is a bizarre match-up on the undercard that will feature another British prospect versus a heavyweight once touted as the next boogeyman of the division.

Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images

Filip Hrgovic issues brutal warning to David Adeleye

In an interview with The Stomping Ground, Filip Hrgovic spoke on his upcoming fight against David Adeleye on the Whyte vs Itauma undercard, and gave a blunt statement as to how it will end,

“Big KO. First, taking his soul, and then knocking him out.”

Hrgovic is 18-1, having defeated Joe Joyce in his latest fight, handing him his fourth loss in his last five fights, after suffering an upset loss to Daniel Dubois after cuts over both eyes forced an end to their slugfest.

Adeleye, meanwhile, is 14-1, having lost by stoppage to Fabio Wardley. The Brit has just come off a controversial win over Jeamie TKV for the British title in which he struck TKV after the ref called break, and is now seeking a seat at the big table with a win over ‘El Animal’ Hrgovic.

Adeleye’s best win to date is either the TKV fight, despite it being marred in controversy, or his first-round KO of Solomon Dacres.

Hrgovic has a controversial win of his own, though at a much higher level, as he outpointed Zhilei Zhang in a close fight many had going ‘Big Bang’s way.

Filip Hrgovic questions David Adeleye’s choice of sparring partner

In his last fight, Hrgovic took on Joyce on late notice after Dillian Whyte withdrew from the Joyce fight with a finger injury, and outpointed ‘The Juggernaut’ after a gruelling 10 rounds.

Now, it has been revealed that Adeleye, who’s eyeing a fight with Daniel Dubois, is using Joyce as his primary sparring partner ahead of his clash with Hrgovic.

Hrgovic questioned the choice of sparring partner, and doubted Adeleye would be able to learn anything from him that will help in their dust-up,

“Joe Joyce is not great sparring partner, not same style like myself and… but with sparring partners you always struggle, you rarely can find a perfect guy so you always struggle with that and he was probably available and willing to help him but I don’t think he’ll gain something special from Joe Joyce.”

This article first appeared on Bloody Knockout and was syndicated with permission.

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