Heavyweight Showdown Set to Ignite June 1 on Beterbiev-Bivol Undercard

According to Mike Coppinger at ESPN, the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol is beginning to take shape, with a report from them already suggesting Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang “are in the process of finalizing a deal” to fight on the card. In addition to the already much-anticipated Matchroom 5v5 Queensberry, it appears Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) and Filip Hrgović (17-0, 14 KOs) are also close to agreeing a deal to appear on the already stacked June 1 card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Daniel Dubois vs. Filip Hrgović Close to Deal

Dubois vs. Hrgović

The heavyweight division is enjoying somewhat of a renaissance since Turki Alalshikh became involved, giving us two stacked cards so far, with “Day of Reckoning” and “Knockout Chaos” providing us plenty of knockouts and possibilities for future fights. 

Dubois is one fighter who came through a career make-or-break fight on the “Day of Reckoning” card as he proved all the doubters wrong – digging deep and defeating Jarrell Miller by tenth-round TKO. He spoke after the fight and exclaimed: “I showed my heart.“

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“Dynamite” has proven he has punching power with 19 KOs from 20 wins, but the doubt was always his heart and will, but the contest against Miller proved he has heart in abundance. He looked in trouble around the fourth round but found an extra gear, showing he carries power into the later rounds. A win over “Big Baby” has catapulted Dubois into the heavyweight mix.

Filip Hrgović

Hrgović was last seen in the ring when he expectedly destroyed Mark De Mori by first-round TKO. The Croatian has shown he can come forward and be the aggressor or box on the back foot and counter as he did against Zhilei Zhang. During the Zhang fight, “El Animal” showed his heart as he survived a first-round knockdown and later showed he had plenty of power rocking “Big Bang” on more than one occasion.

A fight between Dubois and Hrgović will be an intriguing contest and a huge fight for both, as they look to catapult themselves towards a world title shot.