Itauma faces Hrgovic for vacant IBF Heavyweight title on August 29

Promoter Warren confirms Briton recovering in hospital Croat accepts he lost first eight rounds before victory Moses Itauma has been urged “not to give up” by Filip Hrgovic, the new IBF world heavyweight champion, who stopped the 21-year-old Briton with a dramatic and stunning turnaround in their title fight late on Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena. Itauma was taken to hospital in a precautionary measure after the fight and Frank Warren, his promoter, confirmed to the Guardian on Sunday morning that his young heavyweight was still under medical observation. Continue reading...

21-year-old Itauma stopped after ninth-round rally 34-year-old Hrgovic is first Croat to win such a title Moses Itauma’s hopes of becoming the second-youngest world heavyweight champion in history lay in ruins after the extraordinarily tough and resilient Filip Hrgovic stopped him in the ninth round of their IBF title fight. Yet, until the latter stages of round eight, the sheer speed and dextrous power of the Briton had dominated the contest, with the Croat being dropped in the second and caught again and again by jolting combinations. The fight changed course when Itauma’s stamina suddenly dipped and he began to weave in woozy fatigue as Hrgovic fought back with granite-like determination. Itauma could not withstand the dark storm rolling over him in the ninth and he sank back against the ropes as Hrgovic opened up with renewed conviction. Just as the referee stepped in to stop the fight, Ben Davison, Itauma’s trainer, also sent a white towel sailing sadly over the listing ropes to save his man from a knockout. Continue reading...

Filip Hrgovic inflicted Moses Itauma’s first professional defeat at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday night, as the Croatian won the vacant IBF heavyweight championship.

Hrgovic lost all eight rounds of the fight before Itauma gassed out and his corner threw in the towel

Filip Hrgovic celebrates after winning the IBF World Heavyweight title bout against Moses Itauma at The O2 Arena, London. Picture date: Saturday August 29, 2026. (Photo by Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images) | PA Images via Getty Images Filip Hrgovic predicted months ago that Moses Itauma “wound not reach the promised land” when the two met in the ring. It was a good line. And you know that he meant it, even if most out there were going to doubt him. Today, he turned the “line” into a promise kept, rallying from deep in the hole to stop the 21-year-old Itauma in the ninth round and claim the vacant IBF heavyweight title at London’s O2 Arena. It was a remarkable effort from Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KO), who became the first heavyweight champion from Croatia. The 34-year-old veteran had to take a lot of clean shots and stand up to a lot of serious punishment against Itauma, whose speed advantage was massive, but he just couldn’t seem to dent Hrgovic the way he had previous opponents. That’s not to say Hrgovic was never rocked or hurt, but he was able to hang in there, get the fight into the second half, and test the previously untested stamina of Itauma, who had dumped a lot of energy into going for the knockout that never came. At the end of the eighth round, Itauma looked very tired and a little bit hurt. Hrgovic had been chipping away in bits for several rounds by then, maybe not winning any of them — and he doesn’t think he won any — but having pockets of success that gave him ideas. The start of the ninth round seemed to be the time for Hrgovic to go for it, and he did. Itauma wobbled and staggered around the ring, and had little coming back for Hrgovic, who poured on the pressure until trainer Ben Davison hopped on the apron with the white towel in hand. Davison got a moment to reconsider when referee Howard Foster separated the fighters near the ropes, but it didn’t last. As soon as the action resumed, so did Hrgovic’s attack, and Davison’s towel flew. It was the right decision by the trainer. His young, much-hyped fighter was beaten. Hrgovic and Itauma had plenty of snippy moments, to put it nicely, leading up to the fight, including Itauma shoving Hrgovic from behind at the weigh-in on Friday. Hrgovic responded with a slap to the face. On fight night, Hrgovic was strong enough to bend, to put it one way, and it was Itauma who broke first. “El Animal” gave Itauma a lot of credit for his talent in his post-fight interview, and said he just needs more experience. “Let me ask my young friend something. Is a chin important?” Hrgovic said. “Look, chin is important. He’s an amazing fighter. I’m the present, and he’s definitely the future. “He’s an amazing fighter, he’s one of a kind. He’s the best I’ve been in the ring with, but he needs more experience. He gassed out. I felt the pace of the fight. I knew I was losing rounds, but I knew that I had that pace in my favor. He was gassing out. He needs more experience, but he’s one of a kind.” Hrgovic said he could see early that Itauma would tire as the fight wore on. “From the first round, I saw he was gassing out. He started fast, but I knew he was going to gas out at some point. I knew when my chance came, I had to push, and that’s what I did.” Itauma was stretchered out of the ring, with some suspecting that he may have also suffered an injury on top of being exhausted and beaten up. This is not to give him any “excuse,” but while Hrgovic took the obvious beating for most of the fight, Itauma was damaged, too. It’s a rough setback for a young fighter as confident as Itauma has been in his rise to stardom, which may wind up looked back on as promoters and networks and all the other people who don’t actually have to get into the ring pushing a young fighter too fast, and too hard. And even if Hrgovic truly means that he felt Itauma was the most talented fighter he’s faced, now comes the mental test for Itauma, both from himself and from what he’s going to hear from fans, from media, from all those things it’s easy to get lost in when the going is good, and even easier when times are tough. For Filip Hrgovic, it’s an amazing day. However “watered down” you or I might see boxing’s world titles, Filip Hrgovic can call himself heavyweight champion of the world, and it means the world to him. As it should. He’s the one who got in there and did it, who endured and persevered and realized his dream.

Moses Itauma’s rise through the heavyweight ranks stalled after his challenge for the vacant IBF world title ended in a ninth-round stoppage by Filip Hrgovic at The O2. Facing the toughest test of his 15-fight career against an experienced and durable Olympic medal winner, Itauma took command of the early rounds but tired and the eighth and ninth swung dramatically in Hrgovic’s favour.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 29: Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic exchange punches during their IBF World heavyweight title fight on the Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic: Natural Born Thriller fight night card at The O2 Arena on August 29, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images Watch Moses Itauma vs. Filip Hrgovic full fight video highlights from their boxing main event showdown Saturday afternoon, courtesy of multiple outlets. Itauma vs. Hrgovic took place Aug. 29 at the O2 Arena in London, England. Moses Itauma (14-1) and Filip Hrgovic (21-1) squared off in the main event clash. The fight aired live on DAZN pay-per-view. Official result: Filip Hrgovic def. Moses Itauma via ninth-round TKO (2:27) Catch all the video highlights below. HRGOVIC STOPS ITAUMA IN ROUND 9 INSANE FIGHT pic.twitter.com/594Tc2LNJu — 🌴ᴛʜᴇᴀʀᴛᴏꜰᴡᴀʀ🌴 (@TheArtOfWar6) August 29, 2026 Moses Itauma's ringwalk songs are ALWAYS bangers 🔥 🎟️ Buy #MosesHrgovic NOW at https://t.co/yxybEeo0Px | Live Now | Watch only on DAZN ▪️ pic.twitter.com/Woc52zXJ7Y — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 29, 2026 Filip Hrgovic's esteemed career has all led up to this moment 👀 🎟️ Buy #MosesHrgovic NOW at https://t.co/yxybEeo0Px | Live Now | Watch only on DAZN ▪️ pic.twitter.com/yAFJhEUNOb — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 29, 2026 Filip Hrgovic is ready to rumble 🥊🔜 🎟️ Buy #MosesHrgovic NOW at https://t.co/yxybEeo0Px | Live Now | Watch only on DAZN 🤳 pic.twitter.com/VSZyLbzzmC — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 29, 2026 Moses Itauma is ready to do what he does best 🥊 🎟️ Buy #MosesHrgovic NOW at https://t.co/yxybEeo0Px | Live Now | Watch only on DAZN ▪️ pic.twitter.com/VpyHgvjDMi — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 29, 2026 Moses Itauma’s time to shine 🌟 🎟️ Buy #MosesHrgovic NOW at https://t.co/yxybEeo0Px | Live Now | Watch only on DAZN 🤳 pic.twitter.com/nrkFKhzs9i — DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 29, 2026 For more on Itauma vs. Hrgovic, check out the recap from Bad Left Hook. Filip Hrgovic def. Moses Itauma by TKO in Round 9 Official Time: 2:27 Hrgovic wins IBF heavyweight title Unbelievable fight and effort from Hrgovic (21-1, 16 KO), who becomes Croatia’s first heavyweight champion. Hrgovic took a beating in this fight, but he just didn’t budge. He hung in there. He got the fight where he wanted to, the second half. And although Hrgovic has historically not shown the best gas tank, he has experience fighting tired at this level. Itauma doesn’t. That felled the 21-year-old.

Filip Hrgovic rallies to beat gassed Moses Itauma for IBF heavyweight title

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic will both attempt to make some heavyweight boxing history in London and you can follow all the action live with ESPN.

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic will collide TODAY (Sat., Aug. 29, 2026) for the vacant IBF Heavyweight title, streaming live on DAZN PPV inside O2 Arena in London, England. IBF made the announcement a few weeks ago that the already-signed bout would be for the vacant title left behind by Oleksandr Usyk, a nice surprise […]

Welcome to the live results update for Moses Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) vs. Filip Hrgović (20-1, 15 KOs)! Their bout headlines a Queensberry Promotions card at the O2 Arena in London, England. Fight fans around the world can catch the action live as a pay-per-view (PPV) on DAZN. The vacant IBF heavyweight world title will […]

The best boxers in the world travel to London this weekend, where English fighter Moses Itauma (14-0-0) takes on Albanian Filip Hrgovic (20-2-0) in the heavyweight title main event on Saturday, Aug. 29. For Queensberry Promotions, the Itauma vs. Hrgovic pay-per-view event takes place at The O2 Arena in London, England. Coverage and prelims begin …

Moses Itauma faces Filip Hrgovic for the IBF title and more!

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 28: Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic face-off ahead of their IBF World Heavyweight title fight during the Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic: Natural Born Thriller weigh in at Spitalfields on August 28, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic will battle for the vacant IBF heavyweight title today in London, as one of boxing’s fastest-rising stars looks to capture his first world title at 21, but will have to get through a sturdy veteran also seeking world title glory for the first time. Bad Left Hook will be here starting from 2 pm ET with live results and reactions, updating in this post, as well as a live chat down in the comments section that will feature scoring, discussion, and more! Join your fellow boxing fans for all the updates and more! How to watch Moses vs Hrgovic Start time: 2:00 pm ET Streaming: DAZN Ultimate (subscription) or Pay-Per-View Location: o2 Arena – London, England, UK Preliminary Fights: 11:00 am ET, live stream below Moses vs Hrgovic running order and fight lineup Main Event Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic, heavyweights, 12 rounds, for vacant IBF title Main Card – Undercard Sam Noakes vs Denys Berinchyk, lightweights, 10 rounds Nelson Hysa vs Thomas Narmo, heavyweights, 10 rounds Constantin Ursu vs Ben Vaughan, welterweights, 12 rounds, for Ursu’s British and Commonwealth titles

A heavyweight clash will go down tomorrow afternoon (Sat., Aug. 29, 2026) at the “Natural Born Thriller” fight card LIVE on DAZN from London, England, as rising contenders Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic duke it out for the vacant IBF title, but that didn’t stop the two men from getting into a physical altercation during […]

Event: Itauma vs. Hrgovic: ‘Natural Born Thriller’Date: Sat., Aug. 29, 2026Location: O2 Arena in London, EnglandStart Time: DAZN PPV main card start time at 1 p.m. ET Itauma vs. Hrgovic Main Event on DAZN PPV (5:00 p.m. ET): Heavyweight.: Moses Itauma (14-0) vs. Filip Hrgovic (20-1) for vacant IBF Heavyweight title Itauma vs. Hrgovic Underard […]