Filip Hrgovic stayed in the hunt for a world heavyweight title shot after overwhelming Dave Allen, whose corner threw in the towel in Round 3 on Saturday.
The Croatian outclassed Allen, who found himself out of his depth and under siege from the first bell in front of his home fans at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster, England.
Victory puts Hrgovic in the frame to face 21-year-old English knockout sensation Moses Itauma in London on Aug. 8, in a clash between the WBO's top two contenders.
Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs), 33, from Zagreb, started fast and when he began landing clean, thudding punches without any reply, Allen (25-9-2, 20 KOs) was saved by his corner.
"I started fast because I saw he was very open from the beginning and I started fast to make a statement," Hrgovic said in the ring after. "I want to fight anyone in the division, Moses and anyone. I just need to talk to my team and then we will decide. I have never run from any opponent.
"I will fight anyone. Remember, Moses never reached the promised land."
Despite eight losses on his record, Allen went into this fight on the back of some good form.
After he looked unlucky to lose a split points decision to English rival Johnny Fisher in December 2024, Allen won a rematch by a Round 5 TKO a year ago. He lost on points to Arslanbek Makhmudov in October, before the Russian went 12 rounds with former world champion Tyson Fury last month.
But despite that momentum, Allen found himself under immediate pressure as Hrgovic quickly established his jab and landed a few right hands in Round 1.
After losing out on a world title shot when he was stopped on cuts by Daniel Dubois two years ago, Hrgovic started the fight in a good position as No. 2 with the WBO behind Itauma and with a top-10 ranking with the other three world governing bodies. Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in Round 11 of a thriller last weekend to win the WBO belt.
Hrgovic, who outpointed David Adeleye and Joe Joyce last year, unloaded some hard shots with Allen trapped on the ropes in the final seconds of the first round in a worrying start for Allen.
Six-foot-six Hrgovic, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, looked classy in Round 2 as he controlled the fight behind his jab, and Allen took some punishment while sat on the ropes.
Hrgovic landed a series of unanswered punches in Round 3 and 34-year-old Allen's trainer Jamie Moore sensibly threw in the towel to prevent the Yorkshire boxer getting badly hurt, as he offered no response to the onslaught. The Croatian kept landing clean punches through Allen's guard and the one-sided fight was stopped two minutes, 37 seconds in the third round.
"If Jamie thinks it's the right decision, it's the right decision," Allen said.
"Filip Hrgovic was too good for me. I've had 36 fights and I'm so grateful I'm still boxing."
