MOSES ITAUMA AND FILIP HRGOVIC TO FIGHT FOR VACANT IBF TITLE, FRANK SANCHEZ PAID TO STEP ASIDE

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic square up on June 22, 2026

Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic, set to collide on August 29 at London, England’s O2 Arena, will now be fighting for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.

No. 3-ranked Itauma, 14-0 (12 KOs), had been ordered by the sanctioning body to face leading IBF contender, Frank Sanchez, after the bout with Hrgovic had already been signed and announced. And with the Croatian rated fourth by the organization, it has been agreed that they can instead do battle for the belt on the condition that the winner meets Sanchez in their first defense.

“We paid [Sanchez] some money,” promoter Frank Warren told the BBC. “We said whoever wins the fight, you’re not losing out and you’ll get the opportunity to fight for the title against the winner.”

The 34-year-old Cuban, 26-1 (19 KOs), had achieved mandatory status with the IBF by knocking out Richard Torrez Jnr in two rounds in May.

Hrgovic, 20-1 (15 KOs), is riding a three-fight win streak – beating Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen – and is regarded as 21-year-old Itauma’s toughest test to date.

Presuming Itauma-Hrgovic isn’t a draw, it means that Warren’s Queensberry Promotions – who handle both Itauma and Hrgovic, as well as WBC boss Agit Kabayel and WBO beltholder Daniel Dubois – will promote three of the four heavyweight beltholders come the end of the month. The WBA titlist, Murat Gassiev, had previously been expected to face Itauma later in the year.

"A lot of people have high expectations of [Itauma] as I have, by the way," Warren said. "We signed him when he was 16. He was an amateur. We sponsored him, and he turned professional with us.

"And he's been amazing and sort of taken the world by storm.”

The influx of heavyweight beltholders can of course be explained by Oleksandr Usyk’s decision to relinquish his three titles in June. Though the 39-year-old is plotting one last fight – likely against Deontay Wilder – the Ukrainian’s days of fighting elite opposition are over, it seems.

Kabayel and Gassiev saw their statuses rise by virtue of Usyk’s decision to step down. Dubois defeated Fabio Wardley to claim his belt after Wardley was handed the championship when Usyk gave up the WBO title last year.

The winner of Itauma-Hrgovic will be the first to claim one of Usyk’s old belts in the ring.

- BoxingScene 

"HE'S BEEN HURT IN SPARRING": JAKE PAUL VS ANTHONY JOSHUA 'LEAK' EMERGES DAYS BEFORE FIGHT

Image credit: Jake Paul Instagram / Matchroo
 

Anthony Joshua and Jake Paul are just days away from their controversial heavyweight showdown.

Two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua is set to face ‘The Problem Child’ over eight rounds at the Kaseya Center in Miami on Friday night.

‘AJ’ is yet to make a return to the ring since he suffered a shock 5th round stoppage defeat to former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in September 2024.

Paul was last in action back in July when he defeated former WBC middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr at the Honda Center in Anaheim.

There are a number of stipulations that have been put in place for their controversial match-up which includes a 245lb weight limit that only Joshua must adhere to.

As reported by The Sun, Ryan Garcia has claimed that Paul has been struggling during his sparring sessions and could be in a world of trouble when he steps into the ring with ‘AJ’ later this week.

“I heard word that he’s getting beat up in sparring by these heavyweights. And these aren’t even Anthony Joshua, bro. S***, I’m leaking some s***. But… [Joshua] has got 50lbs on him.”

It was revealed earlier this month that Paul had drafted in a number of world ranked heavyweights for sparring ahead of his meeting with Joshua, including two-weight world champion Lawrence Okolie and Cuban contender Frank Sanchez.

Okolie, who is now campaigning at heavyweight following his success at cruiserweight and bridgerweight, left ‘The Problem Child’ with a black eye following a recent sparring session.

 - Kailem Lowe