Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic: Heavyweight Title Clash
Moses Itauma has heard it all week. The taunts, the sneers, the promise from Filip Hrgovic that he’ll “smash the kid” and “send him back to high school”.
On Saturday night at the O2 Arena, the talking finally has to survive 12 rounds.
The vacant IBF heavyweight title, given up by Oleksandr Usyk, sits between them. For Itauma, just 21 and 14-0 with 12 knockouts, it’s a shot at history: victory would make him the second-youngest heavyweight world champion of all time. For Hrgovic, 34, 20-1 with 15 stoppages, it’s the chance to turn years of frustration and near-misses into the belt he has long felt should already be his.
One man has been doing the shouting. The other has barely raised his voice.
“Talk is cheap,” Itauma shrugged, when asked if Hrgovic’s words had cut through. “He has just got schoolboy banter and that’s it. You’ve got to keep rolling.”
Hrgovic has been only too happy to play the villain. The Olympic bronze medallist has dismissed the British southpaw all week, doubling down again on Thursday.
“I am just telling you facts,” he said. “I am not playing any games. I just tell you what I think in the moment. Like I said, I am not so smart to play these mind games.
“I think he is a kid, he is not mature enough and I think I am the man. I am a much better age, much more experience and yeah, that is it. No mind games. God willing you know I will beat him, I’ll smash the kid on Saturday and send him back to high school.”
The words bounced off Itauma. They usually do. His rise through the division has been marked by a kind of cold stillness, a refusal to be dragged into the theatrics that so often swallow young heavyweights.
This week has been no different.
“I want to first address that I am not trying to become the second youngest heavyweight champion of the world, I am trying to beat Filip Hrgovic,” he said, making the priorities plain.
“Second of all, this fight is what I wanted. I asked Queensberry for so long. I think it is a style match-up I reckon I can thrive on, the pressure I can thrive on and it is just waiting to fight.
“Obviously the world title is an achievement and an accolade. And that is a plus one, but my sole focus is Hrgovic. If I ain’t going to beat Hrgovic, it doesn’t matter about the world title and it doesn’t matter about the noise or nothing. My job is to be victorious on fight night. I am ready to rock and roll.”
If the belt and the history books are being pushed to one side, the noise around Itauma is harder to ignore. This week he was told of the praise from Prince Naseem Hamed, who claimed the youngster is a “million times better” than Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury and can be the best of all time.
That kind of talk can warp a career. Itauma’s response was to push it away.
“Obviously it’s good but when I hear things like that, I kind of have to put it to the back of my mind,” he said. “I have such a long way to go in the sport of boxing, but of course I appreciate it from an all-time great like Prince Naseem Hamed.”
The respect is there. The distraction is not.
Hrgovic, with his age, size and pedigree, is the sternest test Itauma has faced. The Croatian sees a boy in front of him. Itauma sees a style he believes he can “thrive on”, a seasoned contender whose aggression might just open the doors he needs.
And when it comes to how this ends, the young challenger left no room for ambiguity.
“The perfect performance? It would be go a couple of rounds and finish the job,” he said. “Same script. Different story.”
On Saturday night, under the lights in London, the script gets handed over. The question is simple: is this the coronation of a prodigy, or the night experience drags a rising star back to school?
