The Itauma Hrgovic fight is set for August 29 at The O2 in London — and Filip Hrgovic has made clear he is not buying the hype. Moses Itauma arrives as one of boxing’s most talked-about young heavyweights, but the experienced Croatian says he has seen nothing yet to convince him the 21-year-old is the real deal.
Hrgovic believes his own experience, endurance and power will finally probe areas of Itauma’s fast-tracked game that previous opponents have left untouched.
“I think I’m the best opponent he’s faced. I think he’s never been until now in the ring with someone like me, with that kind of experience and endurance, toughness, power. So let’s see how good he is,” Hrgovic told DAZN Boxing, as reported by Boxing News 24. “For right now, I’m not impressed. I must see something more than this to believe he’s the real deal.”
What the Itauma Hrgovic fight comes down to
Hrgovic has been in the trenches — a hard distance fight with Zhilei Zhang and a stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois — while Itauma has largely overwhelmed everyone in front of him without being dragged into deep water. That durability is the puzzle the youngster must solve if the contest stretches into the later rounds.
The Lennox Lewis comparisons that follow Itauma around can wait. On August 29, he simply needs to prove his talent still works against a heavyweight built to absorb punishment and fire back.
