Filip Hrgovic was on '10 medications' as he battled illness ahead of loss to Daniel Dubois

LONDON, England – Filip Hrgovic is fighting Moses Itauma on August 29, hoping victory over the young heavyweight star will take him to a rematch with Daniel Dubois.

They headline at the O2 in London, in what is Hrgovic’s fifth consecutive fight against English opposition having faced Dave Allen, David Adeleye, Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois. 

And he hopes that run will continue with a rematch against Dubois, the current WBO titlist who inflicted the Croat's lone defeat, should he defeat the touted Itauma.

“I’ll get over that, but it was hard for me,” Hrgovic said of the Dubois stoppage loss in Saudi Arabia two years ago. “I needed like one year to recover. It was a big shock for me because I didn’t box well because of the different circumstances. I was injured and ill and I just not focused. I underestimated him and I wasn’t just boxing well. And I was cut since round one. So all that could happen, bad, it happened. Injury, illness, distractions. So, yeah, I would like to have a rematch with him. Hopefully. It’s in contract, if I beat Moses I’ll challenge the WBO champion.”

It is Dubois and the chance to avenge his most damaging career loss that seems to drive the 20-1 (15 KOs) Hrgovic the most.

Unimpressed by the 21-year-old upstart before him, he wants Dubois as his main prize.

And it’s not as if Hrgovic, now 34, wasn’t in the fight. The Englishman had to come through a storm to win.

“That's why I think I can beat him,” said the Croat. “Because with illness, with injury and sparring, with a lot of shit going on, I was winning the fight. And that’s why I believe healthy and without injuries I definitely can beat him. But now it’s a big test in front of me. So I must take care of Itauma. Stylistically it’s a harder fight because he’s quicker and southpaw.

“Dubois has much more achievements. He’s a two-time world champion. But stylistically Itauma is a trickier fighter.”

The Dubois fight was wild and rough, but Hrgovic couldn’t deter the inspired Londoner.

“It was like sitting in a boat and throwing rocks in the sea, you can’t miss him from the boat,” Hrgovic said, somewhat damningly of Dubois’ defense. “I caught him with so many punches, but I wasn’t feeling good. I tell you, I swear, it was like one week before the fight, I was in my bed. I called the lady for flights. I asked her, ‘Can we move this flight for a few days?’ I was in the bed like one week before. She said, ‘No, it's already booked. You must fly.’ So I was sick. And then I was a little bit recovered that fight week. I was taking like 10 medications in a day, every day, just to get a little bit of energy. I didn’t feel good.

“After six rounds, I was dead. Not because of his punches, but I was just without conditioning. Also, I had two huge cuts. It was the destiny. Now, I’m sorry, but I will need to beat your guy. Your next big hope [Itauma].”

Hrgovic was in London this week to formally announce the Dubois fight, but he has now set off to Big Bear, where he will prepare for Itauma with trainer Abel Sanchez. Hrgovic said it is the simplistic, old-school nature of Sanchez’s methods that appeals to him.

“I’m looking forward to that camp,” Hrgovic said. “It will be a lot of pain, man. A lot of sacrifice for this camp. I have a 10-week camp. It’s at altitude. And Abel Sanchez is a real old school guy. I think he’s really brutal. His training regimen. And he’s really old school. He doesn’t believe in this modern bullshit. Recovery, physiotherapy, vitamins. ‘You must drink water.’ ‘You must do this.’ ‘You must do yoga.’ He's just old school. Just hard work and a lot of pain in his camps. A lot of isolation. Just a lot of hard work. Abel Sanchez gave me that.

“After [training in] Dubai, I went to him and he gave me back that, reminded me [of] that simplicity of boxing. Work hard and shut the fuck up. Don’t be smart. Don’t try to be a doctor. If you were smart, you would be a lawyer, or you would be a journalist, or you would be a doctor. You’re not smart. You would be a manager. You’re not smart. You are here to work. To kill this guy. And shut the fuck up. Run every day. Wake up at 6am. Don’t drink vitamins. And that’s it. Simplicity. In one way, it’s simple. But in another way, it’s not so simple. Then you come to the point where you need to speak with yourself. When you go through all that pain, there is where the win is happening. In yourself. You meet yourself. That’s the point of that hard training camp. I believe that I will have a lot of sacrifices in this camp. It will show on August 29th. At least I will be in great shape.”