Moses Itauma to fight Filip Hrgovic for world heavyweight title as bout is upgraded to have IBF belt on line

MOSES ITAUMA will fight for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title against Filip Hrgovic. The heavyweight belts have all been relinquished by Oleksandr Usyk over the past year. Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic will fight for the vacant IBF title Credit: queensberry promotions Itauma KO’d Jermaine Franklin in his last bout Credit: Getty But following his controversial win over kickboxer Rico Verhoeven, 37, in May, Usyk, 39, dropped all of his straps including the IBF version. Itauma and Frank Sanchez were due to be mandated to fight for the red and gold title. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! But promoter Frank Warren negotiated a deal for Itauma to instead challenge Hrgovic on August 29 for the belt. Warren told BBC Sport: “A lot of people have high expectations of him as I have, by the way. “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. This is a big moment for him. But I’m confident he can do it.” Sanchez, 34, has been paid to step aside but will also be guaranteed a fight with the winner of the O2 Arena clash. Warren said: “We paid [Sanchez] some money. Most read in Sport BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS The Home of Boxing in 2026 There's a massive year of boxing ahead! It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring. The Gypsy King has beaten Mariusz Wach in his second fight of the year to set up a huge fight with Anthony Joshua And AJ did the same, knocking out Kristian Prenga in the second round of a thrilling encounter – the Brit was knocked down twice in the opening round. Now fans are looking forward to Moses Itauma’s return for his toughest fight yet against Filip Hrgovic in August. Here’s all the big fights coming up… August Sat 1 – Pierce O’Leary vs Mark Chamberlain – DAZN Sat 15 – Claressa Shields vs Kaye Scott – DAZN Sat 29 – Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic – DAZN September Sat 12 – Conor Benn vs Ryan Garcia – DAZN *If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue. Moses Itauma's stunning rise MOSES ITAUMA will still be only 21 when he bids for the IBF heavyweight world title. The British Boxing Board of Control doesn’t usually let boxers bid for their domestic titles before the milestone birthday. Yet we are not dealing with a normal human being in the Slovakia-born Kent southpaw. Since his schooldays, when he outgrew all of his uniforms and started showing freakish pugilism skills, he has been known as Project Thanos after the Marvel comic-movie titan. On his 18th birthday, Itauma signed his first pro contract and trained as hard as ever and SunSport was invited down to capture the landmark day. Itauma vowed then to beat Mike Tyson’s record of winning a heavyweight world title at 20 years, four months and 22 days. It was not arrogance or boxing bravado, it was unwavering self-belief. When Oleksandr Usyk’s magnificence made that dream slip away, some suggested that a heavy and needless extra burden was now off Itauma’s shoulders. But, make no mistake, the right-handed leftie is gutted he hasn’t usurped the Baddest Man on the Planet. Croatian veteran Hrgovic has just thumped three Brits on the bounce and he reckons Itauma is an over-hyped-underproven-silver-spoonfed prospect. But on August 29, at the O2 arena, we and the rest of the world will see whether boxing’s hype machine has churned up another prodigy or unleashed another generational talent. “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.” Itauma, 21, is coming off a devastating fifth-round KO of durable American Jermaine Franklin, 32, in his last bout in March. Hrgovic, 34, meanwhile beat Donacaster’s Dave Allen, also 34, in May. Itauma could become Britain’s second youngest world champ behind Prince Naseem Hamed – who was also promoted by Warren. And the Hall of Famer added: “Obviously I’m proud of what he’s done up to now but if he does this I’ll be the happiest guy around because he’s such a nice guy. “He is a great advert for British boxing, world boxing and for sport.” Comment now