Filip Hrgovic is scheduled to face Daniel Dubois for the vacant IBF heavyweight title on June 1, with a Wembley superfight between the winner and Anthony Joshua also scheduled.
Hrgović was part of the team matchroom for the 5-on-5 event against Queensbury, with Frank Warren's up-and-coming heavyweight Dubois selected to face the Croatian.
The showdown comes two weeks after Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk clashed on May 18 in Riyadh to decide the undisputed heavyweight championship. However, the IBF is expected to strip the winner of the title almost immediately.
It has been suggested that Joshua could fight for the vacant title, but Hrgovic understands that the belt will actually be on the line when he faces Dubois.
“The plan is to fight Dubois for the vacant IBF title,” Hrgovic said.
“It has to be me to face Dubois for the vacant IBF belt. After that, the winner will fight Joshua, but you never know in boxing. If Fury wins, he will fight Joshua next. He will give his all and will never want to fight Usyk again.”
The May 18 and June 1 shows are the latest mega-events in Saudi Arabia's boxing revolution, but the country's General Entertainment Authority head Turki al-Arshiq recently revealed plans to stage the show at Wembley in Saudi Arabia. . September as a “commercial” for Riyadh season.
And Hrgovic believes either he or Dubois could headline the fight against Joshua under the arch at the National Stadium.
“If Usyk beats Fury, we'll have a rematch, so the winner between me and Dubois will fight Joshua instead,” he added. “That's my opinion.
“Joshua would love to beat Dubois in a dream fight and face him at Wembley in September. That would be perfect.”
Dubois, on the other hand, isn't worried about the belt when he faces Hrgovic, but he is also confident that a victory would set up a huge domestic showdown with Joshua.
He said, “Regardless of whether our fight is for a world title or not, he holds that spot in the IBF and I want to win it. So it's an important fight. .
“The winner of me and Hrgovic fighting AJ next makes business sense, that's business. If me and AJ were to be two London boys fighting for a world title, that would be crazy.
“But it's something my team has to deal with and I'm just training in the gym. But it's going to be a big moment for me and a world title in London is going to be a huge one.” It will be.”
