Hrgovic Faces Allen in Doncaster Heavyweight Bout

Filip Hrgovic faces Dave Allen in a heavyweight bout on Saturday at EcoPower Stadium in Doncaster, England, with the Croatian contender favored to rebound from his lone professional defeat and position himself for bigger challenges.

Hrgovic, who holds a 19-1 record with 14 knockouts, enters the 10-round fight on DAZN after stopping David Adeleye and outpointing Joe Joyce following an eighth-round technical knockout loss to Daniel Dubois last year due to cuts. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist has now beaten four British heavyweights, including Tom Little and a controversial decision over Zhilei Zhang. Allen, 34, carries an uneven record marked by knockouts of Nick Webb, Lucas Browne and Johnny Fisher, but recent losses to Arslanbek Makhmudov and others. He rebounded from the Makhmudov defeat with a 57-second knockout of Karrim Berredjem.

At the final press conference, Hrgovic expressed confidence in multiple outcomes. "I have big power to knock him out," he said. "But also he's durable, he has a good chin. So it might go to the scorecards. Anyway I will win on Saturday." He acknowledged Allen's bravery and rated him as solid but not top level, while noting his own speed advantage...