Filip Hrgovic not interested in Alen Babic fight, looking for bigger names

Croatian heavyweight brawler Alen Babic is quickly becoming something of a cult favorite with boxing fans thanks to his charismatic personality and brawling style, but his attempt to call out countryman Filip Hrgovic doesn’t seem to be working.

Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, dismisses the idea, saying he’s looking for bigger names.

“I’m looking at fighters like (Daniel) Dubois, (Joe) Joyce, Dillian Whyte, and Alexander Povetkin,” he said through Team Sauerland’s Instagram. “Babic is not on my level.”

Promoter Kalle Sauerland told Sky Sports that he respects the ambition of Babic, but that he should fight his way up if he wants to get to Hrgovic:

“It’s like playing [in non-league] then playing Man City! I get the ambition, all credit to him. But take the domestic level fights - Tom Little or Dave Allen. Go through them, work your way up the rankings.”

The 29-year-old Babic (4-0, 4 KO) turned pro in July 2019, and is set to fight again this Sunday, when he’ll face 36-year-old Irishman Niall Kennedy (13-1-1, 8 KO) in an eight-round bout on a Matchroom show, which will stream on DAZN.

Hrgovic (11-0, 9 KO) just fought on Sept. 26, stopping Alexandre Kartozia in the second round of a stay-busy fight in Denmark.