On August 29th, the Boxing world converged on the O2 Arena in London, England to witness the crowning of a new IBF World Heavyweight champion, as the broader picture of the Heavyweight division continues heading towards a period of transition following former longtime champion Oleksandr Usyk choosing to relinquish the world championships he held in the division, choosing to focus his attention on what he says will be his final fight against an unarmed opponent before retirement. This has created several vacancies in the division that are gradually being filled with new world champions.
It was on this occasion that the world championship of the International Boxing Federation’s (IBF) would be on the line and a new champion would be crowned. The element of the politics of the sport of Boxing aside, there was also history that would be made beyond the crowning of a new world champion. It would either be the crowning of the youngest British Heavyweight champion in Boxing history in Moses Itauma, or the first Croatian to be a World Heavyweight champion in Filip Hrgovic.
Despite the historical implications that surrounded this fight regardless of the outcome minus the possibility of it being declared a draw, some had an expectation that this would be a coronation of bigger significance. This was due to the twenty-one year old Itauma not only attempting to become the youngest World Heavyweight champion in British Boxing history, but attempting to become the second youngest fighter to win a World Heavyweight title in history overall, surpassing Floyd Patterson and only behind the current record holder Mike Tyson, who became the youngest World Heavyweight champion in Boxing history nearly forty years ago as a twenty year old prodigy when he knocked out WBC world champion Trevor Berbick in November 1986.
Much like Tyson, Itauma established himself on a reputation of scoring quick and often brutal knockouts as he approached this world title opportunity against Hrgovic. Unlike Tyson, however, who entered his fight against Berbick with a record of 27-0, with 25 Knockouts, Itauma had only fourteen professional fights going into this encounter. Despite the difference between Tyson and Itauma in terms of experience prior to fighting for a world title, some compared him with the former two-time world champion and Hall of Famer based largely on the similarity in how both compiled knockouts on the way towards that milestone.
In fairness to Itauma, for a significant portion of this fight, it looked as though it was assured that he was going to etch his name right besides Tyson in the record book of Boxing history as he administered a beating to Hrgovic including scoring a knockdown of him in the second round when Hrgovic’s glove touched the canvas following being hit with a short hook to the head. For much of the bout, the thirty-three year old Hrgovic was slow and seemed a bit reluctant to let his hands go and to engage with his younger opponent in exchanges.
Round after round, Itauma continued to dish out punishment. As I watched the fight as it was taking place, there were two thoughts that ran through my mind. One, it was frankly a one-sided contest and I wondered if it would get to a point where either Hrgovic’s corner or Referee Howard Foster might stop the fight to prevent him from further punishment, despite Hrgovic showing a granite chin throughout. Two, though I certainly did not agree with the strategy, if there was one due to the beating he was talking with not much defense, I wondered aloud as to whether or not, Hrgovic was attempting to make Itauma punch himself out.
It is important to remember, despite the comparison to Mike Tyson and the touted praise that had been placed upon him, Moses Itauma had never been extended into the deep waters of a fight, otherwise known as the middle and late rounds, and had not been pushed to a distance close to the twelve round world championship distance in his career. In contrast, Mike Tyson was forced to go ten rounds against James “Quick” Tillis earlier in 1986 before facing Berbick for the WBC world championship. The combination of length of overall experience as well as never having gone beyond six rounds before was something to consider for Itauma.
Fatigue began to become visible in that though he was winning the fight clearly on points, Itauma’s offensive output began to subtly decline as the fight progressed. Whether it was due to the resistance of Hrgovic being able to withstand whatever Itauma was able to throw at him or an expectation of Itauma and his camp that the fight would not go into the middle and late rounds, by round seven there were signs that Itauma, though still in control of the fight, was beginning to slip.
Although Itauma was continuing to come forward and pressing the action, the steam behind his punches were noticeably less as the fight moved beyond the sixth round. In round eight, Itauma briefly stunned Hrgovic with a right hand from the southpaw stance that led to Itauma pressing the issue and throwing punches with knockout intention. This amounted to what would turn out to be a last gasp for Itauma as in round nine, he began throwing punches wildly. It is worth noting that it was also in the ninth round that Hrgovic did something he had not done in the contest up to that point. He was now the one coming forward and forcing the issue. The change in tempo combined with obvious exhaustion of Itauma led to Hrgovic landing some shots while Itauma continued to flail his punches, which at point did not have much on them and struggled to stay on his feet. The combination of all the above ultimately led to Hrgovic landing a few more shots before both Referee Howard Foster, who stepped in and Itauma’s corner simultaneously threw the towel in to stop the fight as Itauma collapsed in a neutral corner.
An unlikely come from behind victory for Filip Hrgovic that makes him not only a World Heavyweight champion, but the first Croatian-born World Heavyweight champion in Boxing history. While some may dismiss that accomplishment, at the end of the day, Filip Hrgovic did what he had to do and was able to walk away with the IBF world championship.
As there always seems to be in Boxing, particularly in the era we presently live in where there are no shortage of opinions and reactions, some were critical of Itauma and responded online with mocking laughter at this setback. While this observer is known for calling out such conduct in pointing out how some choose to allow fandom to cloud their judgement and thus engage in conduct, particularly online that they might not otherwise engage in, after covering this fight, I immediately began to think of another scenario where a highly touted prospect/contender had a misstep in a similar way as Itauma had in this fight. One fight came to mind.
In May 1984 at the Wembley Arena, also in London, England, another Heavyweight who was seemingly on a fast-track towards a world title, Frank Bruno entered the ring to do battle with James “Bonecrusher” Smith in a ten round bout. Though not for a world title, at the time of the bout Bruno had won all twenty of his professional fights up to that point, with all those wins coming by knockout. Smith entered the encounter largely unknown at that time, but entered with a 13-1, with 12 Knockouts.
Similar to Itauma-Hrgovic, Bruno dominated the fight from the opening bell forcing the action and winning every round. In the tenth and final round, Bruno, fighting fatigue, found himself trapped on the ropes by Smith as the fighter known as “Bonecrusher” unleashed a barrage of hard punches that ultimately put Bruno down on the canvas. Bruno was unable to beat the count, Smith had scored a come from behind knockout win that would ultimately lead to him challenging for a world title later in 1984. Both Bruno and Smith would eventually become world champions during their respective careers and become cornerstones of the Heavyweight division in the 1980s and 1990s.
While not intended as a direct comparison by yours truly, it does serve as an example as to how one fight should not label a fighter and how one setback should be viewed as a bump in the road over the course of a career, not a career-ender. For his part, Itauma, who left the ring on a stretcher following being stopped by Hrgovic due to a claimed leg injury by promoter Frank Warren as well as likely exhaustion, was gracious in defeat saying he lost to a more experienced man and saying he will be back.
One should keep in mind that in Boxing and by extension combat sports, anything can happen at any given time and that especially holds true when discussing Heavyweights. Although it would not surprise me to see Itauma go back to the drawing board and look to get a few wins under his belt in 2027 before trying to challenge for a world title again and perhaps a rematch with Hrgovic, he is after all only twenty-one years old, he has nothing but time to bounce back and if he can do so and make the necessary adjustments, this loss to Filip Hrgovic will be a chapter rather than the conclusion of his story.
“And That's The Boxing Truth.”
The Boxing Truth® is a registered trademark of Beau Denison All Rights Reserved.
Follow Beau Denison on the following Social Media Platforms:
X: (Formerly Twitter) www.twitter.com/Beau_Denison
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BeauDenison1
Threads: www.threads.net/@BeauDenison1
Instagram: www.Instagram.com/BeauDenison1
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/beaudenison1.bsky.social
