HrgoviÄ completes a stunning comeback to defeat Itauma and become world champion
Filip HrgoviÄ achieved the biggest victory of his professional career and became the new IBF heavyweight world champion after a dramatic comeback against Moses Itauma at London's O2 Arena. In the main event held on Saturday, 29 August 2026, the Croatian heavyweight stopped the 21-year-old Briton in the ninth round after spending much of the fight on the back foot and being knocked down as early as the second round. According to reports by the Associated Press and PA Media, carried by RTĆ, referee Howard Foster stopped the fight while Itauma was taking a barrage of punches against the ropes, almost at the same moment his trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel. With the victory, HrgoviÄ claimed the vacant International Boxing Federation belt and became the first boxer from Croatia to win a world title in the professional heavyweight division. The result also brought the first professional defeat of Itauma's career, one of the most closely followed young heavyweights of recent years.
Itauma dominated early and knocked HrgoviÄ down
The start of the fight was exactly what Itauma and his team had hoped for. The young southpaw used his exceptional hand speed, changes of rhythm and combinations from multiple angles, making it difficult for HrgoviÄ to establish his own tempo in the opening rounds. In the second round, Itauma sent HrgoviÄ to the canvas and further reinforced the impression that the fight could end early, which was hardly unusual considering his professional record up to that point. The Associated Press notes that before this fight, in his first 14 professional appearances, Itauma had never needed to go beyond the sixth round, while he had finished most opponents considerably earlier. That was precisely why his control of the first part of the fight looked so convincing: he moved in and out of range before HrgoviÄ could respond, landed to the body and head, and forced the more experienced opponent to expend energy on defence.
HrgoviÄ, however, survived the period in which he was most vulnerable. Even after the knockdown, he continued to push the fight towards the centre of the ring, accepting the risk of taking more clean punches in order to force Itauma to keep moving and working constantly. At that stage of the fight there were few signs that the balance of power would change completely, but the Croatian boxer remained physically present and refused to allow the early problems to take him out of the fight. After the bout, he himself admitted that he believed he was losing rounds and that Itauma was outboxing him, but he stressed that he felt the high pace could work in his favour over the long term. That assessment proved decisive once the fight entered its closing stages.
The comeback began when Itauma lost his freshness
The key change came in the later rounds, especially during the eighth and entering the ninth. PA Media's report describes how Itauma, after a very strong start, began visibly losing energy, while HrgoviÄ retained the ability to move forward and throw punches in combinations. The Guardian also recorded the sudden decline in Itauma's stamina, noting that by the closing stages of the eighth round the young Briton was becoming increasingly slower and more vulnerable. HrgoviÄ then increased the pressure, began landing more frequently and forced his opponent to retreat towards the ropes. Instead of a fight in which Itauma dictated the distance, the closing stages turned into a physically exhausting battle in which HrgoviÄ's toughness, experience and conditioning came to the fore.
In the ninth round, HrgoviÄ came out decisively, aware that an opportunity had opened in front of him that only a few minutes earlier had seemed very distant. Itauma was moving with increasing difficulty and responding less effectively to the attacks, while HrgoviÄ continued combining punches to the head and body. According to the Associated Press report, Itauma's corner threw in the towel while the fighter was taking punches against the ropes, and referee Foster almost simultaneously decided there was no longer any point in continuing. MMA Fighting listed the stoppage time as 2:27 of the ninth round. The result was officially recorded as a technical knockout victory for HrgoviÄ, allowing the 34-year-old to claim the title that had eluded him for years through a series of eliminator bouts, ranking changes and major fights at the top of the heavyweight division.
A historic title after an Olympic medal and a long road through professional boxing
HrgoviÄ's world title carries additional weight because of the journey that preceded the night in London. According to the official Olympic results from Rio de Janeiro, he won a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division at the 2016 Olympic Games, which was one of the greatest achievements by Croatian boxing in Olympic competition. After turning professional, he built the status of a highly ranked heavyweight and spent a long time close to a title fight, but his rise was halted in June 2024 by a defeat to Daniel Dubois. That fight ended by stoppage after injuries around HrgoviÄ's eyes made it difficult for him to continue, and the loss was the first of his professional career.
Instead of falling away from the world elite, HrgoviÄ then put together a series of victories that returned him to position for a major fight. Queensberry Promotions stated in its preview of the bout with Itauma that he had successively defeated Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen, with the Allen fight in May 2026 ending in a third-round stoppage victory. The London appearance was therefore not merely another step in the rankings but an opportunity for the 34-year-old boxer finally to convert his long-standing status as a challenger into a world title. At the O2 Arena, he did so in a way that further underlined his reputation as a physically durable heavyweight: he survived a knockdown, absorbed a series of clean punches and then finished an opponent who until then had almost always won quickly and convincingly.
Why the IBF belt was vacant
The HrgoviÄ-Itauma fight was originally announced as a major heavyweight clash with a direct impact on the top of the world rankings, and in early August it was upgraded to full status as an IBF title fight. The Ring reported on 4 August that the IBF had officially approved the bout for the vacant belt following changes at the top of the division. The title had previously been held by Oleksandr Usyk, who announced in June 2026 that he was relinquishing the WBC, WBA and IBF belts to make room for other boxers, while stressing that he was not yet ending his career. Reuters reported at the time that the undefeated Ukrainian wanted to free up the titles ahead of the final phase of his professional journey.
That decision opened several parallel fights for vacant world belts and further changed the balance in the heavyweight division. At the time the London fight was arranged, Itauma was one of the fastest-rising challengers, while HrgoviÄ had considerably more experience against established heavyweights. Sky Sports reported before the fight that Cuban Frank Sanchez, then the leading IBF challenger, had been guaranteed the right to face the winner of Itauma-HrgoviÄ. That obligation will be one of the key factors in planning the new champion's first defence, although HrgoviÄ made it clear immediately after winning the belt that he is also interested in title-unification fights.
Itauma suffered his first professional defeat and underwent medical examination
For Itauma, the London night represented the biggest test of his career so far and his first meeting with an opponent who managed to survive his early explosiveness. Before the fight, he had 14 wins from 14 professional appearances, 12 of them by stoppage, and a reputation as a boxer who could reach the top of the division very quickly. In London, he showed why he had earned such status: his speed, accuracy and combinations in the opening rounds caused HrgoviÄ serious problems. However, the fight also demonstrated the risk involved in making a major jump in competition, particularly when a bout extends beyond the territory to which the young boxer had been accustomed.
After the stoppage, Itauma remained exhausted in the ring, received medical assistance and oxygen, and was then carried out on a stretcher and taken to hospital for further examinations. Sky News and talkSPORT reported that promoter Frank Warren mentioned a leg injury and severe exhaustion after the fight as part of the problems that affected Itauma in the closing stages. Warren also stressed that the 21-year-old boxer should not be written off after his first defeat, but that it was an experience from which he could continue building his career. A more detailed medical report had not been made public in the early hours of 30 August, so the extent of the leg injury remained unclear.
HrgoviÄ wants title unification, but Frank Sanchez has the right to a shot
The new IBF champion already raised the question of the next step while still in the ring. The Guardian noted in its live report that after the victory HrgoviÄ spoke about his desire to unify the belts and called out Daniel Dubois, holder of the WBO title, as well as WBC champion Agit Kabayel. Such a direction would carry an additional sporting storyline because Dubois is the very man who handed HrgoviÄ his only professional defeat before the London victory over Itauma. Kabayel was also ringside and publicly showed openness towards a possible fight, immediately sparking discussion about whether the new champion could quickly secure an even bigger clash.
However, the situation is not solely a matter of the wishes of the fighters and promoters. Frank Sanchez agreed to wait while HrgoviÄ and Itauma fought for the vacant title, and according to Sky Sports he was guaranteed the right to face the winner. Promoter Frank Warren acknowledged after the fight that this obligation exists, although he did not rule out the possibility of negotiations if a sufficiently big opportunity for title unification emerges. In practice, this means HrgoviÄ's team will have to reconcile its ambition for the biggest available fights with IBF rules and contractual obligations towards Sanchez. Only the next negotiations will reveal whether the first defence will be mandatory or whether an attempt will be made to arrange another temporary solution.
A desire to fight in Croatia after twenty years in boxing
After winning the title, HrgoviÄ also expressed a more personal wish: he asked Frank Warren to organise a fight for him in Croatia. The Guardian reported that the new champion pointed out that he has been boxing for around two decades and competing all over the world, and that he wants a major professional fight in front of the crowd in the country he comes from. Warren replied that he would try to find a way to make such an event happen. Whether it would be a world-title defence or a later appearance will depend on his obligations to the IBF, opponent availability and the commercial schedule of the biggest heavyweight events.
For HrgoviÄ, however, the most important change has already happened: from the status of a long-time challenger, he has moved into the position of the boxer whom other contenders now want to attack because of his world title. The victory over Itauma is particularly valuable because it did not come in a fight he controlled from the beginning, but after a knockdown and a long period in which he had to find a way to remain in the contest. It was precisely that contrast between the opening and closing rounds that made the London comeback one of the most memorable moments of his career. In the heavyweight division, where the championship landscape has once again been changing in recent months following Usyk's relinquishment of the belts, HrgoviÄ is now one of the key holders in the new distribution of power.
Sources:
- Associated Press / ABC News - fight result, course of the bout and information about the first Croatian heavyweight world champion (link)
- The Guardian - report from the O2 Arena, HrgoviÄ's statement, Itauma's status after the fight and plans for title unification (link)
- Queensberry Promotions - official fight announcement and overview of HrgoviÄ's previous victories (link)
- Sky Sports - confirmation that the bout was upgraded to a fight for the vacant IBF title and Frank Sanchez's status as the guaranteed next challenger (link)
- Reuters / Dawn - context of Usyk relinquishing the WBC, WBA and IBF titles in June 2026 (link)
- Olympic World Library - official overview of Olympic boxing medals in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, including HrgoviÄ's super-heavyweight bronze medal (link)
- RTĆ / PA Media - description of the end of the fight, the referee's name and the moment Itauma's corner threw in the towel (link)
- Sky News - confirmation of medical assistance, oxygen and Itauma being carried out on a stretcher after the stoppage (link)
- talkSPORT - information about Itauma's hospital visit, exhaustion and reported leg injury after the fight (link)
- MMA Fighting - confirmation of the ninth-round stoppage and the stated official finishing time of the fight (link)