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Moses Itauma in boxing pose, charcoal portrait
HEAVYWEIGHT

No Rematch For Itauma — Sanchez's Mandatory Means The Kid Joins The Queue

Less than 48 hours after the towel came in at the O2, the picture is clear: Filip Hrgovic's first job as IBF champion is Frank Sanchez, not Moses Itauma. Luke on why the queue might be the best thing that ever happened to the kid.

By • August 31, 2026 By
  • Moses Itauma is not expected to get an immediate rematch with new IBF heavyweight champion Filip Hrgovic
  • Frank Sanchez's team say their IBF mandatory is next, with no intervening bouts permitted — Hrgovic vs Sanchez is the fight being lined up
  • Luke's verdict: the queue is a blessing — eighteen months of proper rounds and the Itauma rematch becomes a redemption story worth the wait

The Queue Forms Behind The New Champion

Right then. The dust has barely settled on Saturday's seismic night at the O2 and already the heavyweight division has rearranged itself. The reports coming out of the weekend are clear: Moses Itauma is not getting an immediate Itauma rematch with Filip Hrgovic, and honestly, he was never likely to.

Here's the mechanics of it. Frank Sanchez is the IBF's number one contender, and the Cuban's team only agreed to step aside so Itauma vs Hrgovic could happen at all. The terms of that deal? No intervening bouts. Which means the new champion's first defence is spoken for, and it isn't the kid. Hrgovic vs Sanchez is the fight being built, with the champion's promotional team expected to partner on it.

Why This Is Actually Good News For Itauma

Make no mistake — if you offered Itauma the rematch next week, he'd take it, because that's who he is. And it would be a mistake. We watched the kid win eight brilliant rounds on Saturday and then run out of petrol so completely that the towel was the kindest thing in the building. An immediate Itauma rematch doesn't fix the engine — it just re-runs the experiment with more pressure on it.

What fixes it is rounds. Ten-rounders against durable, awkward heavyweights who take him into deep water on purpose. Eighteen months of that and the version of Itauma that turns up to a second Hrgovic fight is a different animal entirely.

The Landscape At The Top

Meanwhile the division moves. Hrgovic holds the IBF belt in a heavyweight picture with Oleksandr Usyk still casting his shadow over everything, and Sanchez waiting with a mandatory that's been marinating for the best part of a year. If Hrgovic beats Sanchez, the Croatian's stock goes through the roof. If Sanchez wins, the Itauma rematch conversation changes shape completely — because a rematch with a champion who beat you is redemption, but a shot at the man who beat the man is just as marketable.

Luke's Final Word

Let's not beat around the bush: the Itauma rematch is coming, just not yet, and that's the right call. The kid is 21. The loss taught him more than fourteen quick knockouts ever did. Let Hrgovic and Sanchez sort out the IBF's business this winter, let Itauma bank real rounds, and let the rematch arrive in 2028 as a genuine event rather than a rushed do-over. If you know, you know — the best heavyweight stories are the long ones. Keep an eye on our fight cards page as the pieces move.

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