Filip Hrgovic underlined his experience and toughness at The O2 in London by stopping Moses Itauma in the ninth round to win the vacant IBF heavyweight title. It was a breakthrough night for Hrgovic, who also made history for Croatia, while Itauma suffered his first professional defeat after entering the bout unbeaten.
The fight had started at high speed and, for long stretches, it looked as if Itauma might be the younger man with the cleaner, quicker answers. But Hrgovic stayed in the contest, absorbed the early danger and then seized the moment when Itauma’s pace finally dropped away.
That shift mattered because the opening minutes had gone Itauma’s way. Inside the opening minute, he rocked Hrgovic with a right hook to the temple. In the second round, a left hook forced Hrgovic to steady himself with a glove on the canvas. By the end of the sixth round, Itauma had won every round and looked firmly in control.
Hrgovic waited for the opening
Hrgovic’s own assessment after the fight was plain. He said: “From the first round, I saw him gassing out.” He added: “He started fast, I knew he was going to gas out.”
That view matched the way the contest unfolded. Itauma went beyond six rounds for the first time in his career in the seventh, then emptied the tank in a sustained assault in the eighth and became almost completely spent. Hrgovic, by contrast, looked increasingly patient and increasingly certain that the momentum would turn.
When the ninth round arrived, Hrgovic took his chance and forced the stoppage. It was a dramatic ending to a fight that had threatened to slip away from him early on, and it showed why heavyweights with proven durability can still change a contest even after losing the early exchanges.
A milestone night for Croatia
After the fight, Hrgovic was generous toward the 21-year-old who pushed him so hard. He said: “He’s an amazing fighter – I want to thank him.” He also praised Itauma for “to give me a chance to become a new superstar in the heavyweight division.”
Then came the clearest verdict of the night: “I am the present. He is definitely the future.”
That is the key takeaway from The O2. Itauma showed why he has been viewed as one of Britain’s most exciting young heavyweights, but Hrgovic showed the value of patience, physical strength and belief under pressure. For one man, it was the first professional defeat. For the other, it was the kind of victory that can reshape a career.
And with the vacant IBF heavyweight title now in his hands, Hrgovic has delivered a result that will be remembered not only in Britain, but also in Croatia, where he became the country’s first world heavyweight champion.
