BoxRec

FILIP HRGOVIC VS. DAVID ADELEYE ADDED TO ITAUMA-WHYTE AUG. 16 CARD, HAYATO TSUTSUMI ALSO ON BILL

Filip Hrgovic and David Adeleye will clash in a heavyweight fight on the August 16 card set to be headlined by Moses Itauma and Dillian Whyte in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Hrgovic (18-1, 14 KOs) and Adeleye (14-1, 13 KOs) were both last in action on the same card in April when the Croatian beat Joe Joyce in the main event of the Manchester bill.

In the co-feature of the evening, Adeleye won the vacant British heavyweight title in a controversial clash with Jeamie 'TKV' Tshikeva.

Adeleye, who was arguably losing the fight with Tshikeva up until the 6th-round stoppage, capitalised on a break enforced by referee Roy Kearney, landing a left hook to the chin of his opponent before finishing the fight moments later.

A rematch was ordered by the British Boxing Board of Control and it was set to take place on August 23 in Manchester, according to the latest circular which was released on Thursday afternoon.

But Adeleye will go in a different direction against a higher-calibre opponent in Hrgovic, who has lost just once in his career to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

Hrgovic outpointed Joyce across 10 brutal rounds of action when he was in the ring last. He also holds a controversial win over Zhilei Zhang.

Adeleye has competed on a Riyadh Season card before, back in October 2023 on the undercard of Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou. He was knocked out in the 7th round of his British and Commonwealth title clash with Fabio Wardley.

Elsewhere on the card, Ring ambassador Hayato Tsutsumi (7-0, 4 KOs) will take on former British junior lightweight title contender Qais Ashfaq (13-3-1, 5 KOs), who last fought in December, drawing with Levi Giles.

Tsutsumi's younger brother Reito is set to compete on 'The Ring III', The Ring's third ever boxing event at Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York City on July 12.

Rounding off the Aug. 16 card in Riyadh is Nick Ball's defence of his WBA featherweight title against Australian Sam Goodman, who moves up from junior featherweight.

Ray Ford, in his second fight at 130 pounds, will take on former IBF champion Anthony Cacace in what should be an all-action encounter. Cacace last fought on May 10 against Leigh Wood, stopping him in the 9th round.

Step up for Adeleye and step down for Hrgovic?

Not a bad heavyweight fight.

Hrgovic is coming off a win over Joyce.

HUGE step up for Adelaye.

It's a way out of the TKV rematch

David Adeleye has only ever lost to Fabio Wardley, and Hrgovic doesn't punch as hard.

Adeleye has looked strong in his past two fights. This will be a competitive fight, and it won't surprise me if Adeleye wins.

Does this mean Adeley is vacating the brittish? Cause I feel like after a controversial result going to Saudi to get KO’d and therefor not being able to defend it’s a bit rude if your holding the belt…

Moses Itauma to take on Dillian Whyte on August 16 in Riyadh

Heavyweight Moses Itauma will meet Dillian Whyte on August 16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Ring Magazine announced via social media Thursday.

The card, which will also feature Nick Ball’s defense of his featherweight title against Sam Goodman in the co-main event, is a Riyadh Season event that will run in conjunction with the 2025 Esports World Cup.

The main-event bout represents a significant step up for Itauma (12-0, 10 KOs), an emerging presence on the heavyweight scene. Although he has already appeared on several prominent cards in Riyadh, as well as fights at London’s O2 Arena and York Hall, this event marks Itauma’s first as a headliner and will come against the most accomplished opponent the 20-year-old Slovakian-British slugger has faced yet.

Whyte, 31-3 (21 KOs), might be precisely the right man at the right time to test Itauma. At 37, Whyte is indisputably shopworn and in his career twilight, but his recent activity suggests he may be the sort of beatable-but-dangerous gatekeeper called for at this stage in Itauma’s development. Whyte was characterized as washed by some after his 2022 stoppage at the hands of Tyson Fury, but he has won all three of his fights since – a majority decision over Jermaine Franklin Jnr and stoppages of Christian Hammer and Ebenezer Tetteh.

Itauma, who is considered by many to be the future of the division, would take an important step in that direction by putting Whyte – a one-time heavyweight challenger – in the immediate past. He has stopped his past eight opponents, including Mariusz Wach, Demsey McKean and, most recently, Mike Balogun last month.

Also on the card will be Ireland’s Anthony Cacace against Raymond Ford, of Camden, New Jersey, in a junior lightweight bout; Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic against London’s David Adeleye at heavyweight; and Japanese junior lightweight Hayato Tsutaumi facing Quais Ashfaq.

Don't see how Adeleye possibly wins this in any way. Hrgovic likely wins every second. Hrgovic needs a better win than this on the back of the Joyce fight for people to take notice of him following his loss.

Stay busy fight for Hrgovic.

Bet your life on Hrgovic. Absolutely no way Adeleye wins this one.

Don’t really understand this fight. What are they getting paid…

I expect Hrg to win easily… but surely he could get a much bigger name than Adeley.

Also Adeley could of angled towards some decent fights…

I think Turki has noticed the other fights on this bill are bang average, apart from the main event, which is a nice fight, but could well be over inside a couple of minutes.

So Frank has thrown in this heavyweight fight, which is probably going to be slam bang entertaining. Thanks to big D, and franks got enough on his books not worry too much if his Ladbroke Grove heavyweight gets walloped.
I hope Adeleye wins this, he’s an entertaining fighter and talker, and he showed a lot of heart even when getting a battering from Fabio. He’s in very deep, but the other guy can sometimes lose interest if things get too hot.

Ford vs Cacace could be really good IMO.

What are Hrgovic's best three wins?

Zhang, Joyce & ???

I thought he was a future Champ but looking back at his record it's not amazing.

The biggest threat to Hrgovic in this fight is complacency. He's streets ahead of Adeleye but Filip grossly underestimated Dubois and things were getting torrid for him before the cut eye ruled him out of the fight anyway.

I'll be quite surprised if Adeleye goes through with this contest.

JC wrote: ↑13 Jun 2025, 08:07 Ford vs Cacace could be really good IMO.

Yes that’s a very good fight

Taansend wrote: ↑13 Jun 2025, 09:38 What are Hrgovic's best three wins?

Zhang, Joyce & ???

I thought he was a future Champ but looking back at his record it's not amazing.

Better than wilders best 2 wins and he was champ for yearrrrs.

But agree with hrgs future being bleak compared to what it was. When he turned pro he was a powerful but robotic but fit 220slb boxer. I kinda figured if he could loosen a bit and add anything to that anature style, just 1 or 2 decent variations, he would go very far.

But he stayed on the can diet too long, fell in love with a mediocre clubbing right hand and got up to 250 so he could plod and club better…

gregregegg wrote: ↑13 Jun 2025, 02:55 Does this mean Adeley is vacating the brittish? Cause I feel like after a controversial result going to Saudi to get KO’d and therefor not being able to defend it’s a bit rude if your holding the belt…

I read that he has vacated but haven’t seen anything official. I wouldn’t mind seeing TKV vs Dave Allen for the title if it is vacant.

Bit of a conspiracy theory, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is just keeping Filip fresh as a sub for Whyte if he pulls out, much like how he did against Joyce. Filip saved the day there, didn't he? Whyte just cannot seem to get himself over the line for a big fight without testing positive or being injured, so don't be surprised if he does the same here and Hrgovic ends up subbing for him again.

It's not as bad as Mark De Mori, but Adeleye is cannon fodder for Hrgovic.

Cyclops wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 10:08 Bit of a conspiracy theory, but I wouldn't be surprised if this is just keeping Filip fresh as a sub for Whyte if he pulls out, much like how he did against Joyce. Filip saved the day there, didn't he? Whyte just cannot seem to get himself over the line for a big fight without testing positive or being injured, so don't be surprised if he does the same here and Hrgovic ends up subbing for him again.

It's not as bad as Mark De Mori, but Adeleye is cannon fodder for Hrgovic.

100% doesn't seem that long ago Adeleye was ducking the rematch with Sokolowski... Hrgovic levels above and likely the sub for main event.

Adeleye wins if Hrgovic is shot or Adeleye lands a shot from the gods, although all the momentum is with Frank at the momentum at the moment so who knows. Adam Booth is a good trainer too - be interesting to see what changes he can bring to David. Good fight either way, I did not expect it.

Solid card all around. I'd expect Hrgovic gets the win here, but Adeleye does have power. He has a puncher's chance, but little else.

Hrgovic can be knocked out and is susceptible to cuts though as we know so Adeleye while he may be the underdog is a live one.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 16:48 Solid card all around. I'd expect Hrgovic gets the win here, but Adeleye does have power. He has a puncher's chance, but little else.

Hrgovic can be knocked out and is susceptible to cuts though as we know so Adeleye while he may be the underdog is a live one.

He's never been knocked out and has faced two of the biggest punchers in the division.

mickey1975 wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 17:59

gilgamesh wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 16:48 Solid card all around. I'd expect Hrgovic gets the win here, but Adeleye does have power. He has a puncher's chance, but little else.

Hrgovic can be knocked out and is susceptible to cuts though as we know so Adeleye while he may be the underdog is a live one.

He's never been knocked out and has faced two of the biggest punchers in the division.

He still seems fragile to me. Like a knockout waiting to happen. We'll see. I don't think it happens here though. I think he can beat Adeleye and probably stops him.

gilgamesh wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 18:15

mickey1975 wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 17:59

gilgamesh wrote: ↑15 Jun 2025, 16:48 Solid card all around. I'd expect Hrgovic gets the win here, but Adeleye does have power. He has a puncher's chance, but little else.

Hrgovic can be knocked out and is susceptible to cuts though as we know so Adeleye while he may be the underdog is a live one.

He's never been knocked out and has faced two of the biggest punchers in the division.

He still seems fragile to me. Like a knockout waiting to happen. We'll see. I don't think it happens here though. I think he can beat Adeleye and probably stops him.

I gotta side with Mick here. Hrgovic might have an argument to having the best chin in the division. Flush shots from Dubois and Zhang; Joyce too, who fell off but had enough pop to stop Parker. Hrgovic isn't the best boxer at heavyweight, but he's absolutely nails. Fragile isn't the criticism I'd level at him, personally.