The Ice Finally Cracked
Right then — so much for the calmest fight week in memory. All week Moses Itauma has been ice while Filip Hrgovic played pantomime villain, and then Friday's weigh-in happened. At the final face-off Itauma put two hands on Hrgovic's chest and shoved him clean off the front of the stage. Hrgovic climbed back up and answered with a slap across the face before the teams piled in. Security earned their money, and the Itauma vs Hrgovic weigh-in instantly became the most-watched clip of fight week.
Make no mistake, that is the first genuine emotion Itauma has shown all week. Whether it is a crack in the ice or just a 21-year-old reminding a bully he is not to be pushed around, we find out tonight.
What The Scales Told Us
Strip the drama out and the numbers are the real story. Itauma came in at 241.7lbs, Hrgovic at 236.2lbs — both men lighter than their last outings, and Hrgovic more than twelve pounds down from the night he blasted out Dave Allen in May. That is not a man planning to lean on the ropes and maul. That is a man who knows he cannot give a speed merchant a head start, and has built a body to move with him.
Does A Lighter Hrgovic Change The Fight?
It changes the shape of it, not the ending. A mobile Hrgovic asks better questions early — but mobility has never been how you beat Moses Itauma, because nobody at heavyweight lives with that southpaw speed regardless. If Hrgovic wants to stand in mid-range and trade with a quicker man, brilliant. That suits the kid down to the ground.
Luke's Final Word
Let's not beat around the bush — weigh-in pushes do not win fights, and neither do slaps. I said it in my fight week verdict and again on fight eve: Itauma is levels above in speed and timing, and tonight at the O2 he announces himself on the world stage. Itauma vs Hrgovic ends inside eight rounds with the vacant IBF belt around the kid's waist. Catch the Noakes vs Berinchyk undercard and full ring walk times on our fight cards page.