Former trainer Teddy Atlas is leaning toward heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic to defeat David Adeleye in their 10-round undercard fight this Saturday, August 16th, in Riyadh. Atlas says Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) is too inconsistent and too sporadic to beat a fighter as technical as Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs).
“He’s got to hurt him. He’s not going the distance and beating him. I don’t think he’s consistently enough offensively or mentally,” said Teddy Atlas on his channel, talking about David Adeleye needing to knock out Filip Hrgovic to defeat him on Saturday night. “He’s erratic and sporadic. He fights in spots.”
What Atlas is failing to point out is the valid reasons Adeleye fights in spots:
- He’s musclebound: Adeleye is carrying too much muscle on his 240+ lb frame to fight hard for a full three minutes of each round. He needs rest breaks
- Stresses out when the going gets tough: When things are going badly for Adeleye, he chooses to use roughhouse tactics. You see the forearms across the face, low blows, rabbit punching, and a lot of shoving. In his loss to Fabio Wardley, Adeleye lost complete control, fighting like a wildman from the Stone Age 2.5 million years ago.
Adeleye’s Grab-Fest Tactics
“He’s not the prettiest guy to watch,” Atlas continued about Adeleye. “He’s a big, strong guy. He can punch and is awkward, but if you get close to him, he’ll grab you. It could become a grab-fest. I’ve seen it with him.”
Of course, it could become a “grab-fest.” It sounds like Atlas has only watched one of Adeleye’s fights to see that he likes to hold a lot. He did the same thing in his last fight against Jeamie Tshikeva last April. Adeleye was grabbing this guy all night, and got away with murder in the sixth round when he dropped Tshikeva when he nailed him with a left hook on the break. As Hrgovic mentioned, Adeleye should have been “disqualified.”
“Hrgovic isn’t the hardest guy to hit. So, with that power, Adeleye does have hope to land it,” said Atlas. “If Hrgovic doesn’t get knocked out, he wins the fight. He’s more consistent, mentally more stable, and more consistent offensively. Round after round, Adeleye is too spotty. Just too many inconsistencies in the offensive attack.”
Hrgovic’s Technical Skills and Experience
Hrgovic is more technically skilled. He’s a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist and a far better fighter than Adeleye. However, he’s older at 33 than the 28-year-old Adeleye, has scar tissue over his left eye, and his stamina isn’t what it should be to fight a younger guy. If Hrgovic gasses out against Adeleye like he did in his loss to Daniel Dubois last year, he’ll get stopped. That much is obvious.
“So, there might be some grabbing [from Adeleye]. I don’t know if it’s going to be the prettiest fight to watch in the world. I believe the chin of Hrgovic, the experience, and the consistency will bear out for him. But don’t get hit with a bomb, though [from Adeleye]. Be careful,” said Atlas.
Last Updated on 08/15/2025
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