With Oleksandr Usyk’s time in the sport coming to an end, the heavyweight division is seeking a new fighter to take over and establish themselves as the man to beat, and Matchroom Promoter Eddie Hearn believes one of his contenders is capable of doing just that.
This time last week, the general consensus was that the Moses Itauma era was upon us and that the Brit would defeat Filip Hrgovic to become boxing’s second-youngest heavyweight world champion, before unifying against his fellow titleholders.
As is so often the case in boxing, those plans were derailed as Hrgovic pulled off a mammoth upset and handed the 21-year-old a first career defeat; capturing the IBF title and becoming Croatia’s first ever heavyweight world champion.
During his post-fight interview, Hrgovic laid out his own desires for unifications, either in a rematch with Daniel Dubois (WBO champion) or against Agit Kabayel (WBC champion), despite being mandated to next defend his belt against Cuba’s Frank Sanchez.
With the landscape wide open, contenders and past champions are expected to manoeuvre themselves into contention.
Speaking to Pro Boxing Fans, Hearn said that former unified heavyweight world champion Andy Ruiz Jr could be the fighter to take control of the division.
“Andy Ruiz is a massive problem, if he is on it this Friday. If he looks great this Friday, give me Hrgovic, give me Itauma, give me Dubois, Kabayel – he can beat all of those guys.”
Ruiz recently joined forces with Hearn, as he looks to return to the form that saw him stop Anthony Joshua in 2019 to become world champion.
He returns to action against Poland’s Damian Knyba on Friday in at the Prudential Center in Newark, in search of a first win in exactly four years.
The former unified world champion has fought on just four occasions since beating ‘AJ’.
He lost the immediate rematch, by his own admission overweight and under prepared, before being sidelined for 18 months.
Wins over Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz followed, but a high-profile 2023 clash with Jarrell Miller ended in a controversial draw after Ruiz broke his hand during the fight.
Now back with trainer Manny Robles, who masterminded the Joshua win, Ruiz has weighed in his lightest since 2018 and promised fans he taking this comeback seriously.
With the belts perhaps more accessible than ever, and without the pound-for-pound threat of Usyk, Ruiz could well find himself challenging for a title soon.
