Itauma v Hrgovic upgraded to IBF world-title bout

Title: Itauma v Hrgovic upgraded to IBF world-title bout British heavyweight Moses Itauma's combat against Filip Hrgovic on 29 August will be for the vacant IBF title. Itauma, 21, has been widely tipped as the next star of heavyweight boxing, with 12 knockouts in 14 nonrecreational victories. Promoter Frank Warren told BBC Sport the IBF belt, vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in June, will be on the line at London's O2 Arena. "A batch of radical person precocious expectations of him arsenic I have, by the way," Queensberry Promotions' Warren told BBC Sport. "We signed him erstwhile helium was 16. He was an amateur. We sponsored him and helium turned nonrecreational with us. And he's been astonishing and benignant of taken the satellite by storm." "This is simply a large infinitesimal for him. But I'm assured helium tin bash it." Itauma had initially been ordered to participate in negotiations with Cuban Frank Sanchez for the vacant rubric and was given a deadline of 29 July. However, Sanchez has agreed to measurement speech and will instead face the winner of the bout between Itauma and Hrgovic. "We paid [Sanchez] immoderate money. We said whoever wins the fight, you're not losing retired and you'll get the accidental to combat for the rubric against the winner," Warren added. Itauma impressed in a fifth-round stoppage of American Jermaine Franklin in Manchester in March and stopped Briton Dillian Whyte in one round in August 2025. Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medallist, has won 20 nonrecreational fights. The 34-year-old stopped Briton Dave Allen in the third round in May. "We cognize Hrgovic is going to travel and springiness 100%, and 100% of him is hard enactment for anyone," Warren said.