LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 29: Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic exchange punches during their IBF World heavyweight title fight on the Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic: Natural Born Thriller fight night card at The O2 Arena on August 29, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
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Filip Hrgovic pulled the massive upset. Hrgovic defeated Moses Itauma by eighth-round TKO. In the end, Hrgovic’s chin, experience and stamina were the difference. Itauma dominated almost every second of the first seven rounds, but the young heavyweight star’s stamina filed him terribly. In the seventh round, Itauma sold out chasing the KO after he seemingly hurt Hrgovic, but when the latter didn’t go, the former was left running on empty.
In the eighth round, Hrgovic feasted on the bones and forced the referee to call the fight as Itauma was nearly ready to collapse from exhaustion more than punishment. Itauma’s corner was throwing in the towel at the same moment.
Early on, Itauma landed body-head combinations and dropped Hrgovic in the second round. Hrgovic appeared to gain some momentum in the third round, but Itauma was able to stamp out his opponents fire over the next few rounds. One thing is for sure, Hrgovic ate some shots that Itauma used to finish previous opponents. In the sixth round, both men landed power shots. While Itauma got the best of the exchanges, Hrgovic got his respect with a few 1-2 combos. What initially looked like it would be a rout turned into an entertaining slugfest.
Ariel Helwani’s response was similar to almost everyone watching.
After the finish, it took Itauma several minutes to get to his feet. Ultimately, Itauma was taken from the ring on a stretcher. His level of exhaustion was alarming as I’ve never seen a fighter quite that exhausted in the ring. Others felt similarly.
Full Results, Per Queensberry Promotions
| Bout | Division | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Filip Hrgovic def. Moses Itauma | Heavyweight | 9th Round TKO |
| Sam Noakes def. Denys Berinchyk | Lightweight | Unanimous decision (100-90, 99-91, 98-92) |
| Nelson Hysa def. Thomas Narmo | Heavyweight | TKO, R2, 0:36 — wins WBO Global title |
| Constantin Ursu def. Ben Vaughan | Welterweight | TKO (doctor stoppage), R8, 0:03 — retains British and Commonwealth titles |
| Guido Vianello vs. Moses Jolly | Heavyweight | Draw (76-76) |
| Aloys Junior def. Sherif Musah | Cruiserweight | Unanimous decision (60-54) |
| Arbnor Jashari def. Numan Hussain | Super featherweight | Unanimous decision (59-55) |
| Zayn Ahmed def. Liam Fitzmaurice | Super bantamweight | TKO, R2, 2:47 |
| Hassan Ishaq def. Enzo Bahiano Munoz | Super bantamweight | Unanimous decision (40-36) |
| Frankie Wood def. Callum Lee | Featherweight | TKO, R6, 1:21 |
| Tony Curtis Jr. def. Imad Naseeb | Super flyweight | Unanimous decision (58-56) |
| Sam King def. Jack Swallow | Middleweight | Unanimous decision (40-36) |
Itauma won’t turn 22 until December. He has years ahead of him in sport, but there will be some potential emotional trauma from this loss. This was a complete and total collapse. Frank Warren, the promoter of the fight, said Itauma had a leg injury. That’s a bit less worrisome than any other issues.
Still, the end was odd and we have to wonder what Itauma’s next fight will look like. Hrgovic wants a unification fight with the winner of Daniel Dubois vs. Fabio Wardley and/or Agit Kabayel. It seems Warren is more focused on having the new champion take on the mandatory challenger, Frank Sanchez.
We’ll see how it plays out, but boxing never ceases to amaze.