So far, Moses Itauma has made his way through the heavyweight division with almost no trouble. His fight against Filip Hrgovic will now show just how far the 21-year-old has really come.
Moses Itauma appears to be facing the biggest challenge yet in his still-young professional career. According to Sky Sports, the British heavyweight prospect is set to face the experienced Croatian Filip Hrgovic on August 29 at London’s O2 Arena. The official announcement of the fight could come as early as next week.
For Itauma, who is just 21 years old, this would be his first main event at the historic O2 Arena—and at the same time his first true test at the world-class level. So far, the Queensberry Promotions prospect has dominated nearly every opponent at will. In 14 professional fights, Itauma has racked up 14 wins, 12 of them by stoppage. He has never had to box for more than six rounds.
Most recently, Itauma made headlines in March when he spectacularly stopped American Jermaine Franklin in the fifth round. Afterward, promoter Frank Warren announced that he wanted to match his exceptional talent against a top-ten opponent—and with Filip Hrgovic, it seems he has kept his word.
Hrgovic is set to put Itauma to the test for the first time
The 33-year-old Hrgovic brings not only experience but also tremendous resilience to the ring. The Croatian has 20 wins and only one loss. Most recently, he confidently defeated Dave Allen in three rounds. Above all, his ability to take a beating makes Hrgovic a dangerous opponent. In his entire professional career, he has been knocked down only once—in 2022 against Zhilei Zhang. He suffered his only loss in 2024 against Daniel Dubois, when the fight was stopped due to severe cuts.
Many experts see Hrgovic as exactly the opponent who could provide answers to questions that have remained unanswered so far: How will Itauma perform in the later rounds? How well does he hold up under pressure? And is his talent already good enough to compete at the very top of the world? These questions could be answered for the first time on August 29.