{"id":873204,"date":"2026-08-29T23:50:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T23:50:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873204\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T23:50:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T23:50:19","slug":"filip-hrgovic-stuns-britains-moses-itauma-to-claim-ibf-world-heavyweight-title-boxing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/873204\/","title":{"rendered":"Filip Hrgovic stuns Britain\u2019s Moses Itauma to claim IBF world heavyweight title | Boxing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Moses Itauma\u2019s hopes of becoming the second-youngest world heavyweight champion in history lay in ruins after the extraordinarily tough and resilient Filip Hrgovic stopped him in the ninth round of their IBF title fight. Yet, until the latter stages of round eight, the sheer speed and dextrous power of the Briton had dominated the contest, with the Croat being dropped in the second and caught again and again by jolting combinations.<\/p>\n

The fight changed course when Itauma\u2019s stamina suddenly dipped and he began to weave in woozy fatigue as Hrgovic fought back with granite-like determination. Itauma could not withstand the dark storm rolling over him in the ninth and he sank back against the ropes as Hrgovic opened up with renewed conviction. Just as the referee stepped in to stop the fight, Ben Davison, Itauma\u2019s trainer, also sent a white towel sailing sadly over the listing ropes to save his man from a knockout.<\/p>\n

The shocking twist was too much for the 21-year-old and he left the ring on a stretcher, apparently having injured his knee. But the damage was done by the remarkable fight back from his opponent, who made his own significant slice of boxing history. The admirable Hrgovic is the first world heavyweight champion from Croatia \u2013 a country that has no real boxing heritage.<\/p>\n

The shock result was also a sobering reminder that, for all Itauma\u2019s obvious skill and ringcraft, a heavyweight tyro is always vulnerable to a world-class opponent who simply refuses to surrender.<\/p>\n

Before the late dramatics, Itauma walked with calm solemnity to the ring, seemingly unmoved by the fact that the crammed and partisan crowd had begun singing his name in raucous harmony even before he left his dressing room.<\/p>\n

Moses Itauma lands a punch on Filip Hrgovic early in their fight. Photograph: Richard Pelham\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Fighting out of a southpaw stance, Itauma landed the first meaningful punch, a sweeping right hand. Moving with menacing intent Itauma clipped Hrgovic with fast and cuffing blows. His speed was striking as he backed up the bigger man with a shuddering right cross while nailed and shook up Hrgovic.<\/p>\n

Itauma missed with a scything left early in the second but Hrgovic walked almost immediately on to a jolting short right hook which dropped him to the canvas for a count of eight. Hrgovic fought back near the end of the round only for Itauma to produce another blistering combination.<\/p>\n

A sharp left snapped back Hrgovic\u2019s head at the start of the third, as sweat glistened on the faces and torsos of both men. Itauma switched to the body, sinking a cruel blow to Hrgovic\u2019s gut, but the Croat refused to wilt. His vociferous supporters at ringside began screaming their support as he had a measure of success for the first time in the fight to prove that his ambition remained undimmed.<\/p>\n

Itauma began to grimace occasionally as the pace of the fight began to leave his mark. A beautiful short left snaked through Hrgovic\u2019s defence in the fifth but the older man marched forward with stoic determination. Itauma was starting to breathe heavily and he had to use a glove to slip his black gum shield back into his mouth. It was the first real sign of distress in Itauma\u2019s previously impassive expression. But at the bell a spiteful uppercut rocked back Hrgovic\u2019s head on the plinth of his massive neck.<\/p>\n

The cut about Hrgovic\u2019s right eye began to seep with a tickle of blood. But just before the bell Hrgovic landed some heavy shots. Itauma absorbed them and fired back as the fight really caught fire.<\/p>\n

Itauma had never boxed more than six rounds before and he entered uncharted territory in the seventh. But he again forced Hrgovic on to the back foot and landed some deft combinations.<\/p>\n

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The referee raises his hand to stop the fight as Moses Itauma\u2019s team throw the towel in. Photograph: Peter Cziborra\/Action Images\/Reuters<\/p>\n

Hrgovic ate one meaty blow after another in the eighth round but was resolute as ever. Itauma looked desperately weary as Hrgovic, unbelievably, rallied again. He would soon overwhelm the exhausted youngster and finish a remarkable resurgence.<\/p>\n

Throughout an intriguing fight week, the 34-year-old Hrgovic had tried to unsettle his complex rival by suggesting that becoming a world heavyweight champion at such a young age would be \u201cbad for his soul\u201d. Itauma, who is so suspicious of fame, engaged fully with those doubts about his readiness for sporting celebrity. It was almost as if the callow prodigy was uncertain, deep down, whether his world title shot had arrived too early.<\/p>\n

Hrgovic was always going to provide an acid test of Itauma\u2019s much lauded credentials. The experienced Croat had lost only one previous bout in his nine years as a professional. It had been expected that he would not match Itauma\u2019s deft footwork, fast hands, clarity of thinking and the kind of power that is impressive because it arrives from such dizzying and unexpected angles.<\/p>\n

But Itauma, instead, was rendered helpless by Hrgovic\u2019s superior stamina and bludgeoning will and self-belief. \u201cLet me tell you something,\u201d Hrgovic said afterwards. \u201cIt was not me tonight. It was Jesus Christ in me. Holy Spirit. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. It was not me. I was losing every round. I was outboxed. And I don\u2019t know from where I got energy in that ninth round. And it was really not my strength. It was the Holy Spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then turned his attention to his fallen opponent. \u201cHe\u2019s an amazing fighter,\u201d Hrgovic said of Itauma. \u201cI want to thank him for accepting this fight, to give me a chance to become a new superstar in the heavyweight division. I\u2019m the present and he\u2019s definitely the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Itauma is obviously more than young enough to come back from such crushing disappointment but it is Hrgovic who will celebrate victory in the weeks and months to come. The new world champion administered a chastening lesson in the harsh and unforgiving realities of heavyweight boxing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Moses Itauma\u2019s hopes of becoming the second-youngest world heavyweight champion in history lay in ruins after the extraordinarily…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":873205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[64,63,802,85],"class_list":["post-873204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-boxing","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=873204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/873204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/873205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=873204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=873204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=873204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}