Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic engaged in a war of words ahead of their heavyweight title fight scheduled for tomorrow night at the O2 Arena in London. The bout will see the IBF heavyweight belt, vacated by Oleksandr Usyk, contested between the highly rated 21-year-old British contender and his Croatian opponent.
Itauma, who is undefeated with a record of 14 wins and 12 knockouts, could become the second youngest heavyweight champion in history if he wins. Despite the high stakes, Itauma dismissed Hrgovic’s verbal jabs as mere “schoolboy banter,” emphasizing that talk is cheap and focusing instead on the fight itself.
“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,” Itauma said. “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.” He stressed that the world title is an accolade but secondary to his focus on victory, adding, “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.”
Hrgovic, with a record of 20 wins, one loss, and 15 knockouts, countered by asserting that he was merely stating facts and not engaging in mind games. The 34-year-old Olympic bronze medallist portrayed Itauma as immature and inexperienced, declaring, “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.”
Throughout the exchange, Itauma maintained composure and declined to be provoked by Hrgovic’s comments. He also addressed praise from former champion Prince Naseem Hamed, who described Itauma as significantly better than established stars Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, capable of becoming the best heavyweight of all time. Itauma acknowledged the compliments but said he has “a long way to go” and prefers to keep such accolades “to the back of my mind.”
Looking ahead to the fight, Itauma was confident about how he would finish the contest. “The perfect performance? It would be go a couple of rounds and finish the job,” he said. “Same script. Different story.”
The bout at the O2 Arena represents a defining moment for both fighters, with the IBF world heavyweight title on the line and the paths of two contrasting careers poised to intersect.