Hrgovic, who faces Allen this weekend at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster, suddenly looked much more engaged after hearing concerning the chants and predictions coming from Allen’s side ahead of the fight.
Asked what fans should expect, Hrgovic predicted a knockout.
“An enormous knockout,” said Hrgovic to DAZN.
The Croatian heavyweight then reacted to a song circulating around Allen’s camp predicting a stoppage victory over him. Hrgovic either misunderstood the lyrics or just refused to take them seriously.
“Just see how he looks like, how he dresses up. He says, ‘Hrgovic in seven rounds.’ It means I win in seven rounds, right? Yeah, that’s how I see it.”
Once the part about Allen wanting to “kick his head in” was relayed to him, the smirk disappeared.
“That’s why I’m getting extra strong. I’m destroying this guy on Saturday,” said Hrgovic. “I’m ruining your party, man.”
Allen enters the fight because the underdog but has spent the week embracing the role of hometown spoiler. He has repeatedly pointed to Hrgovic’s knockout loss to Daniel Dubois as proof that the Croatian could be broken down under pressure.
The gang inside the general public workout clearly sided with Allen throughout the exchange, adding to the hostile atmosphere once Hrgovic began responding. What had began as a relaxed media appearance quickly was considered one of the more tense moments of fight week.
Hrgovic has mostly treated the fight like a mismatch. Wednesday’s exchange finally dragged some emotion out of him.
