Just one week ago, Filip Hrgovic was deep in the running as a replacement opponent for Fabio Wardley. 

Not only did that fight fail to materialize, but he also now has to wait out a purse bid hearing to learn the next step for his lone other option. 

BoxingScene has confirmed that the IBF has scheduled a May 15 hearing to determine promotional rights for Hrgovic’s ordered final eliminator against Frank Sanchez. The two sides failed to reach terms within the assigned negotiation period after representatives for both heavyweights expressed interest in moving forward with the fight. 

Should Hrgovic-Sanchez move forward, the winner would become the IBF number one heavyweight contender, per a ruling obtained by BoxingScene. The belt is held by Daniel Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs), who next faces lineal and unified heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk, 23-0 (14KOs) on July 19 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Dubois was able to bypass a mandatory title defense against Derek Chisora once he reached terms for the rematch with Usyk, which will crown an undisputed heavyweight champion. 

The development will leave Chisora as the odd man out and stuck at number-two, since the Sanchez-Hrgovic winner will become the new mandatory. 

During the negotiation period, Croatia’s Hrgovic, 18-1 (14 KOs) – who is managed by Keith Connolly – was also deep in talks to face Wardley, 18-0-1 (17 KOs), on June 7 in the latter’s hometown of Ipswich, London.

Hrgovic would have replaced Brooklyn’s Jarrell Miller, who was pulled from the event due to a reported shoulder injury. 

Wardley and Hrgovic are both with Queensberry Promotions, which helped thrust the 2016 Olympic Bronze medalist into the running. The assignment ultimately went to Australia’s Justis Huni, 12-0 (7 KOs), however, which forced Hrgovic’s team to revisit the Sanchez fight. 

Still, the hulking Croatian is at least afforded the benefit of a full training camp for this fight, assuming it sees the light of day.

Hrgovic is coming off an impressive ten-round, unanimous decision win over Joe Joyce on April 5 in Manchester, England. The bout came on roughly three weeks’ notice as the heavyweight contender replaced an injured Dillian Whyte fairly deep into the event. 

It was also his first piece of ring action since an eighth-round, technical knockout defeat to Dubois last June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The victory over Joyce was right on time, as the IBF sent the invitation to accept a title elimination bout just two days later. 

Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), suffered his lone career defeat just two weeks prior to Hrgovic’s setback. It also came in Riyadh, where the Miami-based Cuban export was stopped in the seventh round by Agit Kabayel, 26-0 (18 KOs) in their WBC title eliminator. 

One win has followed, a confidence-restoring third-round knockout of Ramon Olivas on February 22 in Tijuana, Mexico. 

Per IBF rule 9c, both Sanchez and Hrgovic are required to commit to the ordered eliminator since the matter is now headed to a purse bid. Failure to move forward would result in the offending party dropping out of the top ten and no longer eligible to participate in an IBF-sanctioned fight for at least six months. 

Additionally, neither boxer can accept another fight in the interim. 

Jake Donovan is an award-winning journalist who served as a senior writer for BoxingScene from 2007-2024, and news editor for the final nine years of his first tour. He was also the lead writer for The Ring before his decision to return home. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.