Slobberknocker Extravaganza: Joyce and Hrgovic Trade Bombs in Brutal Clash

Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) headlined a Queensberry Promotions card on April 5 at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester.The entire card was the first Queensberry show of their new broadcast deal with DAZN. Both fighters came into the bout needing a win to restart their careers falling damaging defeats last time out. The main event provided a heavyweight slobberknocker with Hrgovic ultimately coming out on top.

Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic

Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic Fight Recap

The opening round saw both fighters throw bombs, but the cleaner work came from the Croat – who continuously found a home for the big right hand. It was more of the same in the second round, with big bombs being thrown. Joyce (16-4, 15 KOs) had his moments in the round, but the cleaner more eye-catching work continued to come from the Croat fighter.

The fourth round saw Joyce continue to walk Hrgovic down, but ‘El Animal’ threw nice combinations, which surely caught the judge’s eye. The middle of the fight saw both fighters have moments of success. They both seemed to be getting on top at points before the other fired back. Hrgovic seemed to find a second gear in the eighth – and ended it on top and continued that momentum into round nine. The Croat mixed his shots well and couldn’t seem to miss when going to the head. The final round continued in the same vein with Joyce starting the round on top, before the accuracy and power of Hrgovic saw him end the fight on top.

Somehow this fight went to the judge’s scorecards, with the cards reading 97-93, 96-95 and 98-92 crowning the Croat the WBO international heavyweight champion. What’s next for “El Animal” and will we see “The Juggernaught” again?

Joe Joyce vs Filip Hrgovic Undercard

Following the main event, we were treated to a cruiserweight postcard fight with Juergen Uldedaj (20-1, 8 KOs) defeating Gerardo Mellado (12-4, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision (99-91, 100-90 and 97-94).

David Adeleye (15-1, 13 KOs) and Jeamie “TKV” Tshikeva (8-2, 5 KOs) was a scrappy fight – with very few clean punches. Controversy ensued in the sixth round, with the referee seemingly pulling back the arm of “TKV,” which led to Adeleye landing a huge left hook. Despite beating the count, Tshikeva was soon knocked down again. Although he rose to his feet, the referee waved the fight off. Adeleye is the new British heavyweight champion, but an appeal will surely come from Team “TKV.”

Jack Rafferty (26-0, 17 KOs) successfully defended his Commonwealth super lightweight title against Cory O’Regan (14-1, 3 KOs) with a fifth-round TKO win. O’Regan boxed impressively in pockets, moving and picking his shots, but once Rafferty landed a short heavy right hand knocking his opponent down in the third, it was just a question of when. The challenger seemed to recover in the fourth, before “The Demolition Man” continued throwing sickening body shots, which led to the corner of O’Regan throwing in the towel.

Delicious Orie (1-0, 0 KOs) defeated Milos Veletic (3-8, 1 KO) 40-36 on his professional debut in the heavyweight division.

Khaleel Majid (14-0, 4 KOs) vs Alex Murphy (13-0, 0 KOs) provided plenty of entertainment in the super lightweight division. Both fighters had moments, but the cleaner work from Majid ensured he won a close unanimous decision, with the judges scorecards reading 97-94, 96-94 and 96-95.

YouTube Fights

Royston Barney-Smith (14-0, 7 KOs) produced a mature performance against Cesar Paredes (18-17-1, 5 KOs), cruising to an 80-72 victory in their super featherweight clash.

Mark Chamberlain (17-1, 12 KOs) made his debut at super lightweight, comfortably beating Miguel Angel Scaringi (8-5, 3 KOs) 80-72 in their super lightweight bout.

In the featherweight division, Nelson Birchall (8-0, 5 KOs) scored an impressive first-round knockout against Rodrigo Matias Areco (5-14-2, 0 KOs). The end of the fight came via a series of brutal body shots from Birchall.

Ramtin Musah (1-0, 0 KO) dominated his debut against Robbie Chapman (13-48-9, 2 KOs), winning by 40-36 in their light heavyweight fight.

Louis Szeto (1-0, 0 KOs) survived a flash knockdown to defeat Nabil Ahmed (2-41-3, 0 KOs) 38-37 in their four-round bantamweight clash.

Alfie Middlemiss (3-0, 0 KOs) overcame a tough Alexander Morales (6-12-5, 2 KOs) 40-37 in their four-round featherweight bout.