Deontay Wilder and Filip Hrgovic went to war with the pair both taking massive shots during a brutal spar.
In 2013, the heavyweight stars flew over to London, UK, to prepare David Haye for his cancelled fights with Tyson Fury.
At the time, the American was just under two years away from becoming WBC world champion, while the Croatian, who was just 19 at the time, wouldn’t even head to the Olympics for another three years.
Regardless, when they set foot in the ring together, they produced something special.
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Deontay Wilder and Filip Hrgovic went to war in explosive spar
Deontay Wilder is quite possibly the biggest puncher in boxing history. Blessed with dynamite in his right hand, ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is capable of rendering unconscious anybody he touches.
In a thrilling fight, Wilder knocked Artur Szpilka out cold with one of the scariest shots of all time. In addition, the likes of Luis Ortiz and Dominic Breazeale have been left flat on their back after tasting the power puncher’s venom.
However, Filip Hrgovic wasn’t just able to take Wilder’s power, but eat it, and fire back with his own big blows.
In footage uploaded to social media by Sky Sports, David Haye, who was being filmed, told the cameras: “You wanna watch this.”
The camera panned to the ring, where the Alabama brawler was landing big shots on Hrgovic, who was pinned to the ropes.
However, it didn’t take long for the European fighter to capture centre ring and detonate a big right hand, which prompted his opponent to say, ‘That’s it’.
Wilder began finding a home for his jab, but it was Hrgovic who was landing the classier shots, mixing up left hooks upstairs and downstairs, with Wilder telling him to ‘Keep punching’, to which the younger man obliged, landing another straight shot on the target.
At the end of the round, Adam Booth warned the trash-talker that Hrgovic was having too much success with his hooks. Listening to the advice, Wilder began to make his opponent miss, before landing a magnificent right hand, which earned a nod of approval from the recipient of the shot.
Looking to continue his momentum, the experienced professional bullied his adversary back towards the ropes. Alas, he wasn’t able to capitalize, with the Zagreb fighter making him miss wildly, before punishing him with combinations.
With the spar coming to a close, Hrgovic landed one last big shot.
Throughout the rounds, Wilder had been conversing with his opponent. Whether this was to help him or get under his skin was unclear. However, the last thudding blow clearly aggravated the American, who shrieked, ‘Let’s go’.
Deontay Wilder left an opponent twitching on the floor after landing a terrifying knockout blow
While his spar against Hrgovic exposed some technical flaws, Wilder always relied more on the devastating impact of his punches than his understanding of the sweet science.
In his esteemed career, the former heavyweight champion often found himself losing on the cards before having to bounce back with massive comebacks.
However, he didn’t always need to wait patiently, with the boxer sometimes finishing the job early.
On one occasion, Wilder connected with a frightening punch that left his opponent twitching on the canvas.