In just over three years and 31 rounds completed as a professional boxer, Moses Itauma has looked like the future of the heavyweight division.
On Saturday, the 21-year-old phenom will put his sublime skillset to the test in the toughest matchup he has faced to date when Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) takes on 6-foot-6 Croatian slugger Filip Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) for the vacant IBF title inside London's O2 Arena (2 p.m. ET, DAZN PPV).
Four months shy of his 22nd birthday, Itauma has the opportunity to become the second youngest fighter in boxing history to capture a piece of the heavyweight title behind Mike Tyson, who knocked out Trevor Berbick in November 1986 at 20 years and 4 months to capture the WBC championship.
But if you're wondering whether Itauma, a native of Slovakia who was raised in Chatham, England, is excited at all about the historical connotations at play, the 6-foot-4 ½ southpaw used Wednesday's final press conference to put an end to the conversation.
"I want to first address that I'm not trying to become the second youngest heavyweight champion of the world," Itauma said. "I'm trying to beat Filip Hrgovic and become a heavyweight champion. Second of all, this fight is what I wanted. I think it's a star matchup that I reckon I can thrive on. The pressure, I can thrive on. I'm just waiting to fight.
"Obviously, the world title is an achievement and an accolade. That's a plus-one but my sole focus is Hrgovic. If I'm not going to beat Hrgovic, it doesn't matter about the world title or the money. My job is just to be victorious on fight night."
TENSIONS HAVE BOILED OVER! 🤯Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic CLASH at the weigh in ahead of their IBF heavyweight title fight tomorrow night on DAZN 😳 pic.twitter.com/OUpGv5tiwQ
Save for back-to-back wins in 2023 in just his third and fourth pro fights, with both ending via six-round decision, Itauma has run through the competition like a hot knife through butter.
In 2024, he needed just two rounds to finish former title challenger Mariusz Wach. Then, in what was expected to be the first fight in which he faced significant pushback against former two-time WBC interim heavyweight champion Dillian Whyte in 2025, Itauma needed just shy of two minutes to score a first-round TKO.
Itauma has been so sensational, including in his highlight-reel knockout of Jermaine Franklin in March, that comparisons to everyone from Tyson to even Muhammad Ali have become unavoidable due to his hand speed, footwork and combination punching. But his journey to his first heavyweight title shot came in a fashion that few expected.
Unified and former two-time undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk, 39, struggled in May against boxing novice and former kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven and needed to rally for an 11th-round TKO on a very questionable referee stoppage. Usyk then chose to vacate his titles in June, indicating that he wasn't looking to challenge himself against an elite opponent for his next fight, which he said would be the last of his legendary career.
Itauma's promoter, Frank Warren of Queensberry, was forced to pay IBF mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez step-aside money, which came with a promise that he would fight the winner of Saturday's bout, in order to secure Itauma's title shot against Hrgovic. But ever since this fight was announced earlier this month, Hrgovic has used every opportunity to mention how unimpressed he has been with Itauma, whom he believes has not yet had his chin or endurance challenged against an elite foe.
On Wednesday, Itauma said he was unaffected by Hrgovic's pre-fight words.
"At the end of the day, talk is cheap," Itauma said. "It's just schoolboy banter. You have to keep rolling."
Whether or not one agrees with Hrgovic's sentiment, there's no question he has the potential to be a handful for the young rising star. A 2016 Olympic bronze medalist for Croatia, Hrgovic has been a durable big man on the elite level who can box and punch.
