Igor Jurkovic will face dangerous Dutch fighter Michael Duut at the Glory 14 event on March 8th in Zagreb. This bout will take place as part of the GLORY Superfight Series. “The Istrian Warrior” will take on Duut in the 95 kg weight class, which he recently decided to move down to.
As a reminder, the event is headlined by triple K-1 WGP winner Remy Bonjasky and Croatian hero Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic. Glory 14 Zagreb is shaping up to be one of the strongest events for the global kickboxing leader in 2014.
Michael Duut
Duut is one of the most potent young Dutch strikers (24 years old), and the Croatian audience already had an opportunity to see him live. In March 2012, Duut took part in the Cro Cop Final Fight event in Arena Zagreb, getting a convincing win over Serbian fighter Stefan Jelic.
The Dutchman was a relatively anonymous name at the time, only making his first steps onto the global scene. Two years later, it can be said that Duut has both improved and established himself, which is reflected by his status in Glory. Currently, he is ranked 8th in the organization’s 95 kg weight class, and he was close to achieving a major upset last year at Glory’s light heavyweight Grand Prix when he knocked down the great Tyrone Spong in the first round. Sadly for him, it was a short-lived triumph as the Surinamese was quick to recover, afterwards managing to turn things around and win via KO.
Duut was also defeated in his most recent fight by Danyo Illunga at Glory 11 Chicago in October 2013. His overall stats show an impressive 38-5 score, with an excellent 45% knockout rate. There is an interesting anecdote from the early days of Duut’s career. As a ten year old, he was beaten up by an older boy on his way home from school. He came home crying, but after talking to his father he decided to face the same boy once again, and he bravely squeezed his eyes shut and swung his right arm. To everyone’s astonishment, the bigger and older boy got knocked to the ground by the power of Michael’s blow, and that marked the beginning of this talented striker’s career.
Igor Jurkovic
Jurkovic will also be looking to return to winning ways in Zagreb after two back-to-back losses in Glory. The last, a rather heavy one, happened in October last year in New York, when he was knocked out by Brazilian Jonathan Diniz.
On the other hand, “The Istrian Warrior” is on a much better run in Final Fight, where he has three wins from his three matches so far: against Kemayo, Catinas and Poturak. Jurkovic’s overall career score is 47 wins and only seven losses with an impressive 29 knockouts. In terms of fighting styles, both fighters are exceptional strikers of devastating power, always looking for a knockout and the quickest way to finish the fight. Unlike Duut, who is mainly focused on his arm techniques, Jurkovic likes to use his legs as well, which should be a minor advantage for him in this fight. However, judging by Glory’s rankings and kickboxing fans’ opinions, the Dutchman is seen as the slight favorite, which should merely be an additional incentive for “The Istrian Warrior”.
Tickets for the Glory 14 Zagreb kickboxing spectacle have been on sale since last week and can be purchased via the Eventim system. Glory has adjusted its pricing for the Croatian market, making tickets available for as low as 90 HRK.
