A new world champion will be crowned on Saturday night as Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic battle it out for the vacant IBF title at the O2 Arena in London.
Oleksandr Usyk was the last man to hold the belt but the Ukrainian legend vacated all of his titles to allow the next batch of contenders to challenge for the top prizes, with both Itauma and Hrgovic looking to become first-time world champions.
Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic Tips Preview
Moses Itauma made his professional debut in 2023 at the age of 18 and has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top thanks largely to his incredible speed and power.
The Slovakia-born Briton stopped his first two opponents within the first round before being taken the distance twice in a pair of six-round contests, but he has blown all comers away since.
Itauma has put together a 14-0 record with 12 stoppages and has only needed 31 rounds to get to this point, whereas Filip Hrgovic has had a more complicated career path.
Hrgovic claimed the bronze medal at the 2016 Olympics, becoming the first and so far only Croatian boxer to win a medal at the Summer Games for his country as an independent nation.
El Animal made his professional debut the following year and like Itauma he began his record with a pair of first-round wins.
Hrgovic stepped up in class in 2018 by beating both Amir Mansour and Kevin Johnson. His biggest success to date came in 2022 as he became the first fighter to beat Zhilei Zhang and that points win over China’s Big Bang should have marked a turning point, but the opportunities never seemed to materialise for him.
The 34-year-old did challenge for the IBF belt in 2024 but suffered the first defeat of his career against Daniel Dubois. Hrgovic was stopped on doctor’s orders in the eighth round due to cuts over both eyes, but he was ahead on two of the three scorecards when the fight came to a premature end and can count himself unlucky not to have already held a major belt.
Since that defeat, Hrgovic has put together a three-fight winning streak and represents a big step up for Itauma, with Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin Jr probably the best wins on his record.
Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic Tale of the Tape
Moses Itauma | Filip Hrgovic | |
Record: | 14-0 | 20-1 |
Age: | 21 | 34 |
Birthplace: | Kezmarok, Slovakia | Zagreb, Croatia |
Height: | 6' 4 1/2" | 6' 6" |
Stance: | Southpaw | Orthodox |
Last Fight: | Won (TKO) Jermaine Franklin Jr (March 2026) | Won (TKO) Dave Allan (May 2026) |
KO%: | 85.71 | 75.00 |
Alias: | NA | El Animal |
Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic Top Tips
Moses Itauma to win in rounds 1-6 @ 11/10
Hrgovic is a massive step up for Itauma but based on what we’ve seen from the 21-year-old he looks more than ready to move on to the next level.
Hrgovic is one of the world’s top heavyweights and has been for some time. El Animal was unfortunate in defeat to Dubois and would provide a test for anyone in the division, but Itauma’s superior speed and movement could be the crucial differences here.
The biggest name on Itauma’s record is Dillian Whyte and he made light work of the former world title challenger, dismantling his compatriot inside one round. Admittedly, the Whyte he faced was a shadow of the fighter who claimed wins over Joseph Parker and Derek Chisora but that still ranks as a massive victory when taking into account the manner of the success.
Itauma was last seen destroying Franklin inside five rounds and that was no small feat. The American may not be the most technically gifted fighter but he is durable and went into that fight with a 24-2 record, having previously gone the distance in defeats to Whyte and Anthony Joshua.
Hrgovic is a solid technician, he’s got plenty of power of his own and is incredibly tough. El Animal was stopped by Dubois but that was due to two cuts, and he had not suffered a knockdown in that fight.
Hrgovic has only been officially knocked down once and that came in the first round of his fight against Zhang, where he recovered to win on points.
However, Itauma boasts incredible speed, accuracy and power and those weapons could allow him to make a massive statement on Saturday night.
Itauma has a chance to become Britain’s youngest ever heavyweight world champion and the second youngest man ever to win a world title in the division, and it is an opportunity he should be able to take.
Itauma may need to launch a few attacks to finish Hrgovic off but his speed and movement should allow him to engineer openings right from the off, and he could get the job done before the halfway point.
All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
