DAVID Adeleye has called upon the services of Joe Joyce, the last man to have fought Filip Hrgovic, as he gears up for a sizable leap in levels.
The former British champion will collide with Hrgovic, 18-1 (14 KOs), on August 16, featuring on the undercard of Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Their heavyweight matchup, however, arrived as a somewhat unexpected development, especially given that Adeleye, 14-1 (13 KOs), was widely expected to enter an immediate rematch with Jeamie TKV.
In their first encounter, which took place last April, ‘Big D’ claimed a destructive sixth-round stoppage victory shortly after he floored TKV with a potent left hook.
The shot was landed just moments after the referee called ‘break’, but despite the controversial nature of their dustup, Adeleye has instead opted to take on a drastically different assignment.
Headlining the card that Adeleye vs TKV appeared on earlier this year was Hrgovic, who stepped in on relatively late notice to face Joyce, 16-4 (15 KOs).
Prior to that, the Croatian had fallen short against former world champion Daniel Dubois, his eighth-round stoppage defeat exposing a series of defensive vulnerabilities.
Against Joyce, too, the 33-year-old was forced to trudge through a string of torrid moments, before ultimately emerging from their scrappy affair with a unanimous decision victory.
Hoping to benefit from Joyce’s first-hand experience, meanwhile, is Adeleye, who has recruited ‘The Juggernaut’ as one of his main sparring partners for this camp.
In terms of his body dimensions, the 39-year-old appears to be an obvious choice, but aside from that, he should also introduce Adeleye to several nuggets of advice.
“I thought [Hrgovic] looked good [against Joyce],” Adeleye told Boxing News. “I’ve been sparring Joe Joyce for this camp, actually, so there’s a little insight for you.”
When asked to divulge what he gained from those sparring sessions, the 28-year-old simply replied: “It’s been good, but that needs to stay between me and Joe.”
