Filip Hrgovic vs Rydell Booker Preview Nov. 7th
Unbeaten heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic of Croatia will be taking on Rydell Booker of Detroit, Michigan in a 10-round bout in Hollywood, Florida this Saturday, November 7. The fight can be seen live in North America on DAZN. Booker last fought in November when he dropped a 10-round decision to Kubrat Pulev. Hrgovic was last in the ring in September when he stopped Alexandre Kartozia in the ninth round.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Hrgovic vs Booker Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Rydell Booker +1400
- Filip Hrgovic -10000
My Pick
The 28-year-old Hrgovic enters the ring with a perfect mark of 11-0 with 9 Ko’s He’s one of the new bigger breed of heavyweights as he stands 6-feet-6-inches tall but unfortunately has an unlisted reach. He’s got impressive power in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 81.8 per cent but hasn’t taken on a legitimate contender as of yet as his wins have been against the likes of Pavel Sour, Tom Little, Sean Turner, Amir Mansour, Kevin Johnson, Gregory Corbin and Eric Molina.
The only two opponents top go the distance with him so far have been Johnson over eight rounds in 2018 and Turner over eight rounds in the same year. Hrgovic turned pro in 2017 and has boxed just 38 rounds since with all nine of his knockouts coming within the first four rounds. He stopped Mansour in the third round in 2018 to take the vacant WBC International Heavyweight Title and has defended it three times since.
Hrgovic enjoyed a fine amateur career and won a bronze medal as a super heavyweight at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He also reached the quarterfinals at the 2011, 2013 and 2015 World Amateur Championships and won the 2010 Youth World Championships as well as the 2015 European Championships. In addition, Hrgovic went 25-4 with 10 Kos in the World Series of Boxing from 2010 to 2015.
Booker is 39 years old and he enters the bout with a mark of 26-3 with 13 Ko’s. He turned pro back in 2001 after an excellent amateur career with several cruiserweight titles to his name and was once rated the top amateur heavyweight in America. He built up a 22-1 record as a pro by 2004 with his only loss coming at the hands of James Toney by unanimous decision in a shot at the vacant WBC Continentals America and vacant IBA Heavyweight Crowns.
However, he then ran afoul of the law and was jailed from Sept. 9, 2005 to Aug. 9, 2017 for possession of cocaine and intent to deliver more than 1000 grams. He started his comeback in February of 2018 with a six-round unanimous decision over Rodney Moore and since then he’s also earned six-round unanimous decisions over Terrell Woods and Domonic Jenkins while dropping a 10-round unanimous decision to Jermaine Franklin and Pulev and stopping Dieuly Aristidle in three rounds.
Booker’s 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 79-inch reach so gives up three inches in height to Hrgovic and has boxed 143 rounds as a pro. He has fine boxing skills and isn’t really known as a banger with a current knockout ratio of 44.8 per cent. He’s obviously not going to benefit from such a long layoff but hasn’t looked too bad so far since making his return to the ring. Before being incarcerated he beat the likes of Art Jimmerson, Uriah Grant, Andrew Greeley and Arthur Williams.
Prediction…
Hrgovic is a banger who would rather not hear what the judges have to say while Booker is a more skilled boxer. However, with Booker being over a decade older and missing the prime of his career I’m expecting Hrgovic to remain unbeaten on Saturday night.
Booker will give it a good shot but should fall short.
Play: Hrgovic -10000 @ BetOnline.ag
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Filip Hrgovic betting • Rydell Booker betting