Fight Week Is Here — And So Is The Question
Right then — it is finally fight week. On Saturday night at the O2 Arena, Moses Itauma steps into the ring with Filip Hrgovic with the vacant IBF heavyweight title on the line, and by the time the ring walks land at around 10pm we will be minutes away from the answer to the only question that matters in British boxing right now: is the kid ready at 21?
The belt is there because Oleksandr Usyk walked away from it, vacating on his own terms as the great ones do. That takes nothing away from what is at stake. Win on Saturday and Itauma vs Hrgovic goes into the record books as the night a 21-year-old from Chatham became the second-youngest heavyweight world champion in history. Only Mike Tyson got there younger. Let that sit with you for a second.
What Itauma Brings
Itauma is 14-0 with 12 knockouts, and it is not just the record — it is the manner of it. Dillian Whyte, a man who has been in with everyone, lasted less than two minutes with him last August. Jermaine Franklin, who took Anthony Joshua the distance, was flattened in five in March. The hand speed is genuinely elite for a heavyweight, the southpaw angles are nasty, and he closes a show like a man ten years deeper into his career.
What Hrgovic Brings
Make no mistake, though — Hrgovic is levels above anything Itauma has faced. The Croatian has beaten Zhilei Zhang and ground down Joe Joyce, and his only professional defeat came against Daniel Dubois when the IBF belt was last on the line. He is big, he is horrible to fight, he jabs hard all night, and he has heard every word about being the stepping stone. Proper operators do not take kindly to that role.
My Prediction
Let's not beat around the bush — I have gone back and forth on this all summer, and I keep landing in the same place. Hrgovic will have success in the mid rounds when the fight slows and the grappling starts, and there will be a wobble that makes the O2 gasp. But Itauma's speed is the kind you cannot train for in your thirties, and I think it announces itself early and often. I am taking Itauma by stoppage inside eight rounds, and if you know, you know: Saturday is the night the heavyweight division changes hands to a new generation. See the full running schedule on our fight cards page.