Young heavyweight Moses Itauma set for ‘litmus test’ vs Filip Hrgovic

FILE – Britain’s Moses Itauma, center, celebrates after beating Australia’s Demsey McKean in their heavyweight boxing fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, File)

LONDON — Rising heavyweight star Moses Itauma is set for his toughest challenge when he faces Filip Hrgovic of Croatia on Aug. 29 in London, with a title fight likely for the winner.

The 21-year-old southpaw, who has drawn comparisons to a young Mike Tyson, has been eying a title shot in 2026 and turned more heads in March with his brutal knockout of Jermaine Franklin Jr.

“This fight is the litmus test Moses is ready for and it is the one he wanted,” Queensberry promoter Frank Warren said in Friday’s announcement of the bout at The 02. “Filip believes it will be too much too soon for the young star.”

Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) and Hrgovic (21-1, 15 KOs) are first and second, respectively, in the WBO rankings.

Daniel Dubois beat Fabio Wardley in May for the WBO belt, and Wardley has exercised a rematch clause.

READ: Moses Itauma knocks out Dillian Whyte in non-title heavyweight bout

The 34-year-old Hrgovic, who won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, earned a third-round stoppage against British fighter Dave Allen in May. The 6-foot-6 Croatian’s only loss as a pro was to Dubois in 2024.

The 6-foot-2 Itauma turned pro three years ago with a debut KO victory that lasted just 23 seconds. Only twice in his career has he failed to win by stoppage. Both of those were six-round bouts in 2023.

Itauma’s father is Nigerian and his mother is from Slovakia, where Itauma was born. They moved to southeast England — Chatham in Kent — when he was young.