Moses Itauma suffered the first loss of his career on Saturday, as he was stunned by Filip Hrgovic in a world heavyweight title thriller.
Itauma, 21, was aiming to become the second-youngest heavyweight champion ever – only after Mike Tyson – but his corner threw in the towel in round nine to end that dream.
London’s O2 Arena crowd was left in shock as Hrgovic became Croatia’s first-ever world heavyweight champion, having survived his British foe’s best shots before turning the tide to collect the vacant IBF belt.
open image in galleryHrgovic, 34, demonstrated an incredible chin, and Itauma tired as the fight wore on, with his technique deserting him and his legs growing wobbly. And Hrgovic capitalised by pouring on punches, leading Itauma’s coach Ben Davison to throw in the towel.
Itauma was then removed from the ringside area on a stretcher, with his promoter Frank Warren saying the young fighter had sustained a leg injury. Itauma was also taken to hospital for treatment.
That might explain his wincing in the final two rounds, as he struggled for mobility but also with the pressure that Hrgovic was applying.
For Hrgovic, the result banished the ghost of a 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois – the sole defeat of his professional career – in an interim IBF title fight.
“It was not me tonight, it was Jesus Christ in me,” said Hrgovic in the ring after his win, also dedicating the victory to his daughter and late father.
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“I was losing every round, I was outboxed, and I don’t know from where I got energy in that… 10th [ninth] round? It was really not my strength, it was the holy spirit.
“[Itauma] is an amazing fighter, he’s one of a kind, but he needs more experience. He gassed out. I knew I was losing rounds, but I knew that I held that pace in my favour. From the first round, I saw he was gassing out.”
open image in galleryWarren, who also promotes Hrgovic, told DAZN that Frank Sanchez would possibly be next for Hrgovic, given he was paid step-aside money to enable Saturday’s main event. However, Hrgovic called for a unification bout and spoke to WBC champion Agit Kabayel in the ring.
Germany’s Kabayel was awarded the WBC belt after Oleksandr Usyk vacated it earlier this summer, with Kabayel having been the WBC’s mandatory challenger at that time. Usyk similarly gave up the IBF belt, and it was soon attached to Itauma vs Hrgovic, which had already been scheduled.