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Croatian heavyweight prospect Filip Hrgovic improved to 7-0 (5 KO) as a professional on Saturday in Zagreb, beating American veteran and former world title challenger Kevin Johnson via unanimous decision over eight rounds.
Scores were 80-71 across the board. The 39-year-old Johnson (33-12-1, 17 KO) was a late replacement opponent for Ytalo Perea.
Hrgovic, who won gold at the 2015 European Amateur Championships and a bronze at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, is a legitimate top prospect in the division, and it’s a solid win for where he’s at. Johnson never really troubles anyone good, but he is double tough and hangs around in fights, meaning you can never really completely overlook him. He’s tough to put away, which Hrgovic found out.
The win closes a strong 2018 for Hrgovic, as he went 5-0 on the year with wins over Johnson, Amir Mansour, Filiberto Tovar, Sean Turner, and Tom Little. We’ll see how he progresses in 2019.