Hrgovic wins IBF title, frowns through Itauma’s impudence to win in 9

Conquer we shall, but first we must contend,

Tis not the fight that crowns us, but the end

The End by Robert Herrick, poet (1591-1674)

Felipe Hrgovic’s victory over Moses Itauma in the 9th round of their IBF World Heavyweight title fight owed much to a stubbornness he is not famed for, conditioning he had previously only partially conquered and a stout chin. His own offence was modest and timidly applied in the early going. Winning rounds was not the game plan. Staying vertical until the second half of the Queensberry Promotions bill-topper was paramount.

The notion, the theory beneath the shellacking he withstood in those first six rounds being that Itauma would tire. Once spent, Hrgovic’s aim was to capitalise on Itauma’s lack of seasoning as a distance fighter – he had never fought beyond the 6th – and the complimentary assumption that the 21-year-old upstart would start fast. Burning fuel he didn’t have the experience to know he would need later.

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August 30, 2026 0

Felipe Hrgovic chasing a young man’s dream

How hard it is not to be strong,

how hard it is to be alone,

and to be old, yet to be young!

Daily Lament by Tin Ujevic, Croatian poet. 1891-1955

It is unlikely Croatian Felipe Hrgovic shares my view of his IBF Heavyweight title fight with the 21-year-old Moses Itauma this Saturday. He will approach the contest resplendent in the muscled armoury of a life spent in boxing and the genetic gifts of a 6-6 frame and broad shoulders.

In all probability, the handsome giant will feels as fit as he did five years ago and confident in the qualification his superior experience provides. Particularly, as he peers across the promotional dais toward such a youthful opponent. There is an IBF title to be won and beyond it lays riches and reward of even greater significance.

Or, beneath the assumptions imposed by his heft and preparation, sits an unease. The type a heavyweight contender cannot voice. Doubt.

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August 29, 2026 0

Itauma and the drain of comparison

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

As an ever larger cohort of fight fans are exposed to the prodigious talents of heavyweight Moses Itauma, the degree of comfort they feel with the media comparing him to the once imperious Mike Tyson will largely be governed by the plasticity of their thinking. Or put more simply, their age.

It isn’t a mirror Itauma sought, but promotionally his career has been benchmarked against Tyson as the narrative that he could become champion at a similar age hung heavy in early press releases. Or would have if people still wrote them.

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August 22, 2025 0

Come in 37, your time is up – Whyte and Itauma at a familiar crossroads

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

Every match made in a boxing career is, essentially, a crossroads fight.

Terminology widely applied to bouts between fighters on an upward trajectory and an opponent trying to arrest decline or prove it to be a false narrative. Crossroads fights tend to have something at stake for both parties subject to the grasp the veteran has on the remnants of his ambition and the potential that pulses beneath the novice’s bravado. The advantages of youth versus the assurance of battle hardiness.

Moses Itauma, aged 20, versus Dillian Whyte, 37 years young, possesses all the elements required to earn the crossroads moniker and is the latest in a long line of prospects facing off against an established name.

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August 13, 2025 0

On the shoulders of giants. Moses Itauma

Article first appeared at BigFightWeekend.com

A biblical name. Laden with promotional opportunity. A southpaw with dynamite in both hands, Moses Itauma could be the next special heavyweight.

It is a familiar path, a familiar sales pitch. Young, powerful, fast. Crashing through the professional losers, the part-timers and then the vaguely known, to the peripheral, the stout, the sturdy and the once were. Busyness is the business. Accumulating highlight reel knockouts, interviews and brand recognition.

Building a heavyweight from a youthful prospect to contender to challenger to champion is usually done from this tattered but trusted blueprint. Evolved, such as it is, for these times of reduced activity and our deficit of attention, it remains rooted in a century or more of match making.

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