Daniel Dubois believes his 2024 victory over Filip Hrgovic has aged particularly well — and the British heavyweight feels the performance deserves greater recognition now that the Croatian has become IBF world heavyweight champion.
Dubois stopped Hrgovic in the eighth round on June 1, 2024, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a fight for the vacant IBF interim heavyweight title. Hrgovic entered the contest unbeaten and was widely regarded as one of the division’s leading contenders at the time.
The contest was a significant test for Dubois. Hrgovic connected with his right hand repeatedly during the fight, while Dubois gradually found his way into the contest. Hrgovic suffered cuts around his eyes, and the referee stopped the fight 57 seconds into the eighth round following medical advice.
The victory proved to be a major turning point in Dubois’ career. He claimed the interim IBF title and was subsequently elevated to full IBF heavyweight champion later that month.
Dubois went on to successfully defend the IBF belt against Anthony Joshua in September 2024, stopping his fellow Briton in the fifth round. He eventually lost the title to Oleksandr Usyk in July 2025.
Hrgovic, meanwhile, had to rebuild after suffering the first defeat of his professional career against Dubois. The Croatian returned to action in 2025 and continued his comeback with victories before his biggest opportunity arrived in August 2026.
That opportunity came against Moses Itauma at London’s O2 Arena on August 29. Hrgovic produced a remarkable comeback, stopping the previously unbeaten Itauma in the ninth round to capture the vacant IBF heavyweight championship. The victory made him Croatia’s first world heavyweight champion. 
The result has inevitably put Dubois’ 2024 victory under a different spotlight. Hrgovic showed against Itauma that the resilience and toughness that made him a highly regarded contender before facing Dubois had not disappeared.
Speaking after Hrgovic’s title-winning performance, Dubois reflected on their meeting and suggested that his victory has gained value with time.
“That win has aged well,” Dubois said. “We gritted it out and what a fight it was.”
There is certainly a stronger historical context around the result now. Hrgovic is no longer simply the unbeaten contender Dubois stopped in Riyadh; he is now a world champion who has demonstrated his ability to recover from that setback and reach the top of the heavyweight division.
For Dubois, the Hrgovic victory remains an important part of his own rise. It preceded his elevation to IBF champion, his stoppage of Joshua and his later world-title challenges.
For Hrgovic, the story has taken a very different path. His defeat to Dubois was followed by a difficult period in which he later revealed that he had considered walking away from boxing. Instead, he rebuilt his career and ultimately captured the world title more than two years after suffering his first professional loss.
That makes Dubois’ argument difficult to ignore. A win over an unbeaten Hrgovic was already a significant achievement in 2024. Hrgovic’s subsequent resurgence and world championship triumph have added another layer to the significance of the result.
The heavyweight division now has Hrgovic at the top of the IBF rankings, while Dubois continues to pursue his own route back toward championship glory. Whatever happens next, their 2024 encounter has become an increasingly important chapter in both men’s careers.
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