Moses Itauma vs. Filip Hrgovic | DAZN - 29 August 2026

[tiny_acres]

How old is Moses? Is he beating Tyson’s record then?

No, Tyson was 20, Moses is 21.

I hate to be a party pooper, but Tyson was just a belt holder, Floyd Patterson was the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tyson was a month older than Patterson when he beat Spinks.

I've made this same argument a hundred time. I always get laughed at when I say it

[keithmoonhangover]

No, Tyson was 20, Moses is 21.

I hate to be a party pooper, but Tyson was just a belt holder, Floyd Patterson was the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. Tyson was a month older than Patterson when he beat Spinks.

I've made this same argument a hundred time. I always get laughed at when I say it

[MasterG]

How's ticket sales going for this fight?

Not amazingly from what I here.

Likely to be free tickets on fight week then.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Yh, just because it’s a title fight now, I don’t know if ticket sales will get better.

[tiny_acres]

Yh, just because it’s a title fight now, I don’t know if ticket sales will get better.

When did this become a title fight?
Which title?

[keithmoonhangover]

Yh, just because it’s a title fight now, I don’t know if ticket sales will get better.

When did this become a title fight?
Which title?

Vacant IBF. Frank Sanchez will have been given $250,000 to step aside.

[Coco]

Yh, just because it’s a title fight now, I don’t know if ticket sales will get better.

When did this become a title fight?
Which title?

Vacant IBF. Frank Sanchez will have been given $250,000 to step aside.

And I guess he will get first shot, nice free money

[golden_labrador]

How's ticket sales going for this fight?

Not amazingly from what I here.

Likely to be free tickets on fight week then.

where would someone get these free tickets?

[KiwiRider]

When did this become a title fight?
Which title?

Vacant IBF. Frank Sanchez will have been given $250,000 to step aside.

And I guess he will get first shot, nice free money

I dunno, if Moses wins Fwank might give him a year or so of soft targets to retain the belt. Mind you, Sanchez is aging out of form from what I've seen. He might not be as dangerous now

[Coco]

Vacant IBF. Frank Sanchez will have been given $250,000 to step aside.

And I guess he will get first shot, nice free money

I dunno, if Moses wins Fwank might give him a year or so of soft targets to retain the belt. Mind you, Sanchez is aging out of form from what I've seen. He might not be as dangerous now

He isn't gonna take 250k step aside money instead of a few million title challenge without guarantees.

Unless they are giving him 1m step aside money

[keithmoonhangover]

And I guess he will get first shot, nice free money

I dunno, if Moses wins Fwank might give him a year or so of soft targets to retain the belt. Mind you, Sanchez is aging out of form from what I've seen. He might not be as dangerous now

He isn't gonna take 250k step aside money instead of a few million title challenge without guarantees.

Unless they are giving him 1m step aside money

To be fair to the IBF, they are very strict with their mandatories.

[MasterG]

Not amazingly from what I here.

Likely to be free tickets on fight week then.

where would someone get these free tickets?

Queensbury give free tickets to us NHS workers. They aren't ringside and could be up in the rafters, but they are free. I have no plans to buy tickets to go to London but if free tickets become available I might get a few and travel down with the grandson and sleep in a service station car park on my way back home,

[Taansend]

For some reason I thought Moses was born in Slovenia & not Slovakia.

I feel stupid now.

[Ruthless-RKO]

For some reason I thought Moses was born in Slovenia & not Slovakia.

I feel stupid now.

Slovenia, Slovakia.. same thing.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic to fight for vacant IBF title, Frank Sanchez paid to step aside

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic, set to collide on August 29 at London, England’s O2 Arena, will now be fighting for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.

No. 3-ranked Itauma, 14-0 (12 KOs), had been ordered by the sanctioning body to face leading IBF contender, Frank Sanchez, after the bout with Hrgovic had already been signed and announced. And with the Croatian rated fourth by the organization, it has been agreed that they can instead do battle for the belt on the condition that the winner meets Sanchez in their first defense.

“We paid [Sanchez] some money,” promoter Frank~Warren told the BBC. “We said whoever wins the fight, you’re not losing out and you’ll get the opportunity to fight for the title against the winner.”

The 34-year-old Cuban, 26-1 (19 KOs), had achieved mandatory status with the IBF by knocking out Richard Torrez Jnr in two rounds in May.

Hrgovic, 20-1 (15 KOs), is riding a three-fight win streak – beating Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen – and is regarded as 21-year-old Itauma’s toughest test to date.

Presuming Itauma-Hrgovic isn’t a draw, it means that Warren’s Queensberry Promotions – who handle both Itauma and Hrgovic, as well as WBC boss Agit Kabayel and WBO beltholder Daniel Dubois – will promote three of the four heavyweight beltholders come the end of the month. The WBA titlist, Murat Gassiev, had previously been expected to face Itauma later in the year.

"A lot of people have high expectations of [Itauma] as I have, by the way," Warren said. "We signed him when he was 16. He was an amateur. We sponsored him, and he turned professional with us.

"And he's been amazing and sort of taken the world by storm.”

The influx of heavyweight beltholders can of course be explained by Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to relinquish his three titles in June. Though the 39-year-old is plotting one last fight – likely against Deontay Wilder – the Ukrainian’s days of fighting elite opposition are over, it seems.

Kabayel and Gassiev saw their statuses rise by virtue of Usyk’s decision to step down. Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley to claim his belt after Wardley was handed the championship when Usyk gave up the WBO title last year.

The winner of Itauma-Hrgovic will be the first to claim one of Usyk’s old belts in the ring.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic set for vacant IBF title

Itauma gets his world title shot perhaps even sooner than anticipated.

Despite only being 21-year-old, Moses Itauma has been a fast-rising prospect who has been frustrated with his inability to secure many of the kind of fights he wants. In that sense, things are certainly trending in the right direction as he’s officially had his fight with Filip Hrgovic upgraded to a vacant IBF heavyweight title fight on August 29.

The fight will take place at London’s O2 Arena per ESPN with Queensberry promoter allegedly specifying that Frank Sanchez was paid to step aside as the mandatory challenger, with a promise to fight the winner of Itauma vs Hrgovic.

Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) isn’t much for words, but his status will speak for itself as he’s provided the opportunity to become one of the youngest heavyweight champions in boxing history, but he’ll have to get through a sturdy and motivated Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs), who says he isn’t in awe of Itauma’s reputation.

”I never see him in trouble. I never see him get punched or dropped,” Hrgovic said of Itauma. “He’s definitely got skills and speed but to be a great fighter you must have heart, will, chin, endurance and we didn’t see that yet. Maybe he’s got all of that, but maybe not. I think I will test that. I will test is he a real deal or not.”

Hrgovic is most recently coming off a stoppage win over Dave Allen this past May while Itauma scored his own stoppage win to beat Jermaine Franklin in late March.

[Ruthless-RKO]

IBF upgrades Itauma vs. Hrgovic to world title fight

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic will now clash for the vacant IBF world heavyweight title in London on August 29.

The pair were already scheduled to meet at London’s 02 Arena in the main event of a Queensberry Promotions show live on DAZN pay-per-view.

And now Queensberry have confirmed the IBF have sanctioned the clash for their heavyweight title, which was vacated by Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk in June.

The IBF had initially ordered Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) and Frank Sanchez (26-1, 19 KOs) to fight for the belt on June 30, given the Cuban was No. 1 in their rankings while the young Englishman sat third. Yet two weeks prior, Itauma-Hrgovic was already agreed and the fight's inaugural press conference took place on June 22.

Queensberry chief allegedly confirmed to the BBC they had paid Sanchez a step-aside fee and the 34-year-old has agreed to face the winner in their first defense, as both men are under contract with the promotional outfit.

"We paid [Sanchez] some money. We said whoever wins the fight, you're not losing out and you'll get the opportunity to fight for the title against the winner," the Hall of Fame promoter said.

The fight will represent a first world title shot for both men. Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) is The Ring's No. 5-rated contender while Itauma sits one place below him.

The fight also offers Itauma the chance to become history’s second youngest world heavyweight champion.

Mike Tyson, who won his first world title aged 20 years and four months, holds the record but Floyd Patterson is in second having beaten Archie Moore to win the title in 1956 aged 21 years and 10 months.

But Itauma will knock Patterson into third with a victory, as he will be 21 years, eight months and one day old when his Hrgovic contest rolls around later this month.

"We signed him when he was 16. He was an amateur, we sponsored him and he turned professional with us. He's been amazing and sort of taken the world by storm. This is a big moment for him, but I'm confident he can do it," Warren added.

The undefeated southpaw has been made a wide favorite against his Croatian opponent. Most bookmakers have priced him at 1/6 (-600) while underdog Hrgovic is out at 7/1 (+700).

[Ruthless-RKO]

Moses Itauma, Filip Hrgovic to fight for vacant IBF heavyweight title

Moses Itauma's fight with Filip Hrgovic will now be for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.

Brit Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) is coming off a Round 5 knockout against Jermaine Franklin Jr. in March and will face Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) who will be his toughest opponent to date.

The bout will take place on Aug. 29 at The O2 in London.

Promoter allegedly told BBC Sport that Queensberry paid Frank Sanchez, who was the IBF mandatory challenger, to step aside and promised the Cuban a fight against the winner.

The IBF title will now be up for grabs after former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated all his belts in June.

While the WBC, WBA and WBO belts were awarded to other fighters, the IBF belt has remained vacant.

Should Itauma, 21, win the strap, he will become the second youngest fighter in history to claim a heavyweight world title, behind only Mike Tyson.

Victory would see him go ahead of Floyd Patterson and Muhammad Ali on the list of youngest heavyweight champions.

However, he faces by far the toughest challenge of his career in Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic medallist whose only defeat as a professional came against Daniel Dubois in 2024 when the fight was stopped due to a cut.

At a pre-fight news conference, Hrgovic took aim at his opponent, insisting he hasn't been impressed by Itauma's rise.

"I'm not impressed the way the whole world is ... I'm a fighter, I look at [it from a] different angle," Hrgovic said.

"I never see him in trouble. I never see him get punched or dropped. He's definitely got skills and speed but to be a great fighter you must have heart, will, chin, endurance and we didn't see that yet.

"Maybe he's got all of that, but maybe not. I think I will test that. I will test is he a real deal or not. I believe that I will beat this guy and I will become heavyweight champion of the world."

[Ruthless-RKO]

Itauma-Hrgovic will now be for the vacant IBF heavyweight title

No. 1 contender Sanchez takes step-aside deal, gets shot at winner

The heavyweight clash between rising British star Moses Itauma and top contender Filip Hrgovic took on greater stakes Tuesday when it was upgraded to be for the vacant IBF world title.

They are scheduled to fight in the headliner of a Queensberry Promotions card on Aug. 29 (DAZN PPV or free with a DAZN Ultimate subscription) at The O2 in London but instead of a nontitle bout the IBF belt will be on the line.

When lineal champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated his three remaining sanctioning body titles — he previously relinquished the WBO belt — the IBF on June 29 ordered Frank Sanchez, who became the mandatory challenger via second-round knockout of Richard Torrez Jr. in a final eliminator on May 3, to fight Itauma for the vacant title.

But Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs), 21, a southpaw from England, already had the fight with Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs), 34, of Croatia, scheduled.

After weeks of discussions, Queensberry made a deal with Sanchez (26-1, 19 KOs), 34, a Cuban defector fighting out of Miami, and his manager, Mike Borao, under which Sanchez agreed to a step-aside deal with worth millions. He will get a payment for stepping aside and has also signed for a guaranteed shot at the Itauma-Hrgovic winner next.

“It’s a big fight. Moses is still only 21 but it’s a great opportunity,” Queensberry promoter allegedly told Fight Freaks Unite after announcing that Itauma-Hrgovic would be for the IBF title. “We don’t take it for granted because Hrgovic is a tough guy and he’s experienced and he’s capable of taking people into later rounds, which he’s done, and he’s a fast starter himself. It is going to be a very interesting fight and a good fight for sure.

“It ticks all the boxes. (Itauma) is a very capable young man. I don’t like taking risks with young guys unless I feel they can do it. I feel he can.”

The IBF also had to sign off on the agreement and it did so on Tuesday. According to the IBF’s resolution on the matter, a copy of which was obtained by Fight Freaks Unite, the IBF approved the bout and noted that Sanchez had agreed to step aside but had not relinquished his No. 1 ranking and was not required to do so.

In approving Itauma-Hrgovic for the vacant title it also spelled out the conditions:

- The winner “shall be required to fulfill the IBF mandatory defense obligation against Frank Sanchez. Such bout shall take place without undue delay, and no later than six months following the Itauma vs. Hrgovic contest, except in the event of force majeure, injury, or other circumstances approved by the IBF. No intervening bouts, including unification bouts, shall be permitted prior to satisfaction of this mandatory defense requirement unless otherwise authorized by the IBF.”

- Also, “in the event the Itauma vs. Hrgovic bout results in a draw, no contest, no decision, or any outcome that leaves the IBF heavyweight championship vacant, Moses Itauma shall face Frank Sanchez in his next immediate bout for the vacant IBF world heavyweight championship.”

Sanchez’s side was pleased to get it worked out.

“This deal is in the best interest of Frank Sanchez,” Borao told Fight Freaks Unite. “It doesn’t affect his timeline to fight for the world title; it only positively affects his earnings for the bout against the winner of Itauma-Hrgovic.”

Warren, who began working with Itauma when he sponsored him as a 16-year-old amateur, said the plan is to have the Itauma-Hrgovic winner defend against Sanchez in late November or December.

“We’ve also got the (Daniel Dubois-Fabio Wardley WBO heavyweight title) rematch and the date for that will be announced soon and we have (WBC heavyweight titlist) Agit Kabayel, so in the heavyweight division things are happening,” Warren said “(After their fights) we’ll be looking to make unification fights.”

If Itauma defeats Hrgovic he will become the second youngest heavyweight champion behind only Mike Tyson, who was 20 when he knocked out Trevor Berbick in spectacular fashion in the second round to win the WBC title in 1986.

Itauma, who will be 21 years, 244 days old when he faces Hrgovic, would also become the third youngest Brit win a world title. Teddy Baldock was 19 years, 346 days old when he won a 15-round decision over Archie Bell for the vacant bantamweight title in 1927. Hall of Famer Naseem Hamed, who Warren also promoted, was 21 years, 218 days old when he knocked out Steve Robinson in the eighth round to win the WBO featherweight title in 1995.

If Hrgovic wins he would become the first heavyweight titleholder from Croatia.

“These two guys deserve to be fighting for a vacant title,” said Keith Connolly, the reigning manager of the year and Hrgovic’s representative. “Moses is the heir apparent in most people’s eyes and Hrgovic was the only top heavyweight that was asking to fight him. Both of these guys earned this shot. Expecting a (Marvin) Hagler-(Thomas) Hearns type fight.”

[Riddick Bowie]

Moses is fun but the hype after he blows out Hrgovic is going to be unbearable.

[golden_labrador]

Likely to be free tickets on fight week then.

where would someone get these free tickets?

Queensbury give free tickets to us NHS workers. They aren't ringside and could be up in the rafters, but they are free. I have no plans to buy tickets to go to London but if free tickets become available I might get a few and travel down with the grandson and sleep in a service station car park on my way back home,

you lot deserve it

[Ruthless-RKO]

Moses Itauma-Filip Hrgovic winner must face Frank Sanchez by December

The winner of the vacant IBF heavyweight title fight between Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic must face Frank Sanchez by December, the Cuban's manager has suggested.

Sanchez, 26-1 (19 KOs), had secured the No. 1 position in the IBF heavyweight rankings when he knocked out Richard Torrez Jnr in two rounds in May. Following Oleksandr Usyk's decision to relinquish three of his belts in June, the IBF ordered negotiations to begin between Sanchez and No. 3-ranked Itauma in regard to filling the championship position.

However, Itauma had already agreed to take on Croatia's Filip Hrgovic, ranked fourth by the IBF, on August 29 at London's O2 Arena. It was confirmed Tuesday that Itauma-Hrgovic will now be for the vacant title with the winner to face Sanchez, who was paid step aside money to wait in line.

"Frank Sanchez could have been next to fight for the IBF title," Mike Barao, Sanchez's manager, told The Ring.

"But he is is making a financially lucrative amount and calculated decision to fight the winner of Itauma vs. Hrgovic for the title in December instead."

Itauma is currently an overwhelming 1-to-7 favourite to beat Hrgovic.

[Taansend]

For some reason I thought Moses was born in Slovenia & not Slovakia.

I feel stupid now.

Slovenia, Slovakia.. same thing.

Well if it had been Slovenia that means he & Hrgovic would have been born less than 100 miles apart, making it a local grudge match.

But now it's not.

[KiwiRider]

For some reason I thought Moses was born in Slovenia & not Slovakia.

I feel stupid now.

He isn't known as The Slovakian Slugger for nothing mate