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 

ANTHONY JOSHUA CLIMS OFF CANVAS TO KO KRISTIAN PRENGA 🥊

 

FULL CARD HIGHLIGHTS | ANTHONY JOSHUA VS. KRISTIAN PRENGA 🥊

 

ANTHONY JOSHUA VS. KRISTIAN PRENGA | FIGHT PREVIEW

 

EXCLUSIVE: MIKE TYSON REVEALS HOW HE WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED ... Let This Be My Legacy!

 Mike Tyson is changing his tune on the whole "legacy" conversation ... saying he now knows how he wants to be remembered, and it's got little to do with his brilliance in the ring!

The boxing legend chopped it up with Babcock about his second Mike Tyson Invitational amateur boxing showcase going down at SAHARA Las Vegas (fights stream here), where hundreds of young fighters get to display their skills in front of trainers, scouts, and Iron Mike himself.

Tyson dropped a bombshell during the convo -- explaining this is what he wants to be remembered for.

“This is my legacy, God willing,” Tyson said. “I want this to be my legacy.”

It's a massive shift for a guy who’s spent years brushing off the idea of legacy as pure ego.

The first event went down in March and was a hit ... and this one, Mike says, will be bigger and better.

“Listen, you won’t believe the number of people we had sign up this time. 350 kids in a couple hours,” Tyson said. “I was so gratefully honored by that. I want to help amateur boxing. I want it to be at the level it was when I was an amateur fighter."

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The sport was poppin' back when Tyson was a teenager in the early 80s, but it's not anymore ... and you don't have to look any further than this.

“They’re about to take amateur fighting out to the Olympics,” Tyson says.

That's exactly why this is important -- it's not about a photo op or garnering good press.

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"I want to keep going even when I’m no longer around. This would be my legacy. Since people make legacy such a big thing, this would be my legacy.”

Tyson believes the kids will benefit tremendously from their involvement in the sport.

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"You are not going to have no idea the benefits these young fighters are going to get from this. It’s going to change their whole life.”

Iron Mike was the youngest heavyweight champion ever, and arguably the most feared man on the planet, but that's not the legacy he's chasing anymore.

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Now, it's all about the kids, and the next generation tasked with carrying the mantle for the sport he loves.

“Mike Tyson had his turn. It’s time for these young guys now…”

- TMZ Sports 

THE 'REAL REASON' OLEKSANDR USYK VACATED HIS WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLES REVEALED

Ukrainian superstar Oleksandr Usyk shocked the boxing world on Friday afternoon when he announced that he would be vacating all of his world heavyweight championships with immediate effect.

The undefeated 39-year-old, who held the WBA 'super', WBC and IBF belts, took to social media to inform fans of his decision. Usyk was most recently seen in the ring last month, when he defeated Dutch kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven in controversial fashion.

Explaining why he had decided to give up his gold, Usyk spoke of his desire to give opportunities to other fighters in the division. He also confirmed that he would have at least one more fight, referring to the next stage of his career as "my last dance".

"I want to vacate all the belts that I currently hold to make them available for the guys next in line to fight for them," he stated. "Friends, I'm leaving the belts, but not the sport because I still have my last dance."

The Motivation Behind Usyk's Decision to Ditch His Gold Has Been Explained

While Usyk's intentions may appear noble, Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn, who has promoted several of the legendary fighter's bouts, has shared the 'real reason' behind the decision.

In an interview with Seconds Out in the wake of the announcement, Hearn suggested that Usyk parting company with his gold was motivated by his desire to have more control over his own schedule.

Breaking down the demands on Usyk as a unified champion, Hearn stated:

"When you're the unified champion and you haven't faced one mandatory [challenger], it's a little bit easier to vacate all the belts than to answer the questions. He [Usyk] is probably in a position where he is like: 'I've done so much in the sport, I don't want to be told who I've got to fight! I want to fight when I want to fight!'"

Usyk's surprising announcement comes just days before a deadline by which he needed to agree a deal to fight the WBC's top-ranked contender, Agit Kabayel. As a result, that fight is now almost certain never to happen, with the unbeaten German likely to be promoted to full champion by the governing body shortly.

Oleksandr Usyk Wins His Final Fight 'Comfortably'

Hearn then went on to reveal the fight that he would advise Usyk to take in what will seemingly be his farewell bout.

"If he's gonna rematch Rico [Verhoeven], which if I was managing Usyk, I would be telling him to do, that's his last fight anyway.

"Why would he fight Kabayel and defend the titles? It's a very tough fight. I think financially you can make more money fighting Rico. There's a bit of controversy there. A few unanswered questions.

"I think he wins very comfortably in the second fight. They could do something special in Amsterdam, which would be iconic. He's done, isn't he? This is him saying: 'One more and thank you boxing'."

Usyk has yet to make any announcement regarding who he may face in his final bout, but it's easy to see why settling the score with Rico may appeal to him before he finally calls time on his legendary career.

- Nick Sutherland

OLEKSANDR USYK BEATS RICO VERHOEVEN THANKS TO CONTROVERSIAL REFEREE STOPPAGE

The referee did not think Verhoeven was saved by the bell.

The referee steps in to stop the Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven fight in Egypt. | Photo by Mohamed Hossam/Getty Images

Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven faced off on Saturday in Egypt in front of the pyramids of Giza. Usyk, the WBA, WBC and IBF heavyweight champion, took on Verhoeven, a kickboxer by trade, in a match that was pure spectacle and the result confirmed it.

While Verhoeven was only taking part in his second career boxing match against Usyk, who came into the bout a perfect 24-0 in his career, the result was very much up in the air as the fighters headed into the later rounds. Or at least that's why many people had observed before a controversial stoppage ended the fight after 11 rounds. And then the scorecards only raised more questions.

First, let's take a look at the final moments of the fight when referee Mark Lyson waved off the fight after the bell. As you can see, Usyk was hitting Verhoeven as the bell rang and kept going and that's when the referee stepped in. The official result goes down as a TKO with one second left in the 11th round.

pic.twitter.com/qMmm6K0gp5

— Combat Casuals (@Clips4Casuals) May 23, 2026

What made the stoppage look even worse was the fact that Verhoeven was very much in the fight on the official scorecards. Two judges had the fight even and Verhoeven was up on the third card. Usyk was approximately three minutes away taking the first blemish on his boxing record by way of a decision loss or maybe a draw.

Here are the scorecards for Usyk x Rico after 10 rounds.

Two judges had it even, one had Rico up a round. pic.twitter.com/1bJFlFFaBT

— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) May 23, 2026

Who knows what would have happened if the referee hadn't stepped in.

Verhoeven came into this fight with one boxing match on his résumé which took place back in 2014. The silver lining for Verhoeven here, besides holding his own against the heavyweight champion, is that he couldn't have won any of Usyk's belts anyway. So now he's 66-10 as a kickboxing champion and he's made a name for himself as a boxer.

Francis Ngannou Reacts

Francis Ngannou, who is coming off a first round knock out victory on last weekend's Ronda Rousey-Gina Carano card, commiserated with Verhoeven on social media saying, "Outsiders will never win, trust me I know, but Rico was the winner tonight. Period."

Ngannou, the former UFC heavyweight champion, had boxing matches against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury over the last few years. While he was knocked out by Joshua, he went the distance with Fury, who was the WBC champion at the time and lost by split decision. After beating Ngannou, Fury went on to lose back-to-back fights to Usyk. Those were the first and second losses of Fury's career.

Usyk and Verhoeven Ring Walk

While the fight had a controversial finish, that shouldn't take away from how cool a scene it was in Egypt on Saturday in front of one of the Seven Wonders of the World. They made sure to use the pyramids in their ring walks and it was undeinably awesome-looking

.A number of boxers including Canelo Álvarez, Terrence Crawford, Anthony Joshua, Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney were all in attendance for the fight. As was Jason Statham and Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. You really might see a celebrity anywhere this weekend.

- Stephen Douglas

OLEKSANDR USYK VS. RICO VERHOEVEN | OFFICIAL FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS 🥊

 

OLEKSANDR USYK VS. RICO VERHOEVEN | FULL FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS 🥊

 

FIRST AND LAST PHOTO OF MUHAMMAD "THE.GREATEST" ALI 🥊

 

WHAT A FINISH! | DANIEL DUBOIS VS. FABIO WARDLEY

 

FABIO WARDLEY AND DANIEL DUBOIS GETS INTO A HEATED ROW OVER 'BINDMAN' COMMENTS

Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois will not need all 12 rounds in their heavyweight title fight. Photo: Queensberry Promotions

Daniel Dubois accuses Fabio Wardley of being disrespectful

Daniel Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) addressed Fabio Wardley (20-0-1, 19 KOs) over his disrespectful comments during yesterday's final press conference in Manchester, ahead of their May 9 world heavyweight championship clash, "By the way, I heard you call me the dust man, and I'm gonna collect the trash, boy!"

During a fight week interview, the WBO world heavyweight champion was asked to assign Dubois an occupation in a playful scenario where he wasn't a professional boxer. Wardley guessed that he would likely be a binman.

Dubois did not take the comment well, "Na, it's disrespect, so I'm going to put it right in the ring, boy. I'm gonna bust his bubble anyway. That's what I've got to do."

Wardley replied back, "What did you say, dustman? I didn't call you the dustman. Someone asked me what you might have as a job and I said, 'He might be a binman'.

"There was no negative with that, don't let other people get into your head and tell you what it comes across like," Fabio advised.

Dubois interrupted him, "Na, I heard what you said. It's disrespect."

"You didn't hear it," Wardley quickly replied. "You didn't hear what I said because you don't run your own social media. So you didn't hear it. You let other people talk to you and tell you what you should be like. It wasn't like that. I just asked what job you might have and I said a binman. I didn't say it was a bad job."

A former recruitment consultant, Ipswich's Wardley is unbeaten in 21 contests and has won English, British, Commonwealth, two Interim world titles, and a WBO World heavyweight title, which is remarkable considering he had just four white collar bouts behind him and didn't start boxing until his 20s.

Dubois is the opposite to that, he has been boxing since he was a kid, had a stellar amateur career winning 69 from 75 bouts, collecting national and international titles. He turned pro to much acclaim after famously dropping the reigning IBF world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in sparring as a teenager. Promoter Frank Warren built him with the moniker #everybelt, which came to fruition as he currently has at least 14 titles in his trophy cabinet, which includes the WBA Regular and IBF World heavyweight titles.

Their collision this Saturday night in Manchester is set to produce fireworks with both explosive heavyweights sharing a powerful 95% HO ratio, hence why the event is called, 'Don't Blink'.

- Tim Rickson

FRANK WARREN: TYSON FURY ASKING FOR WARM-UP FIGHT BEFORE FACING ANTHONY JOSAHUA

Fury ended a 14-month hiatus from boxing earlier this month when he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on points.

Fury ended a 14-month hiatus from boxing earlier this month when he beat Arslanbek Makhmudov on points.

Tyson Fury has instructed his team to arrange another warm-up fight before a ‘Battle of Britain’ with long-standing rival Anthony Joshua.

Fury ended a 14-month hiatus this month when he got the better of Arslanbek Makhmudov on points at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and subsequently traded verbal insults with a ringside Joshua.

It ramped up excitement ahead of an eagerly anticipated domestic bout which has been years in the making and this week Joshua signed a contract to finally fight Fury, but another potential spanner in the works has emerged.

Joshua was already set for a tune-up bout on July 25 with Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga which Queensberry promoter Frank Warren suggested could “kill” any contest with Fury later in 2026 if an upset occurred.

However, Warren has confirmed Fury also intends to step back in the ring before he faces Joshua in a move which casts further doubt on the bout and increases the risk of an injury for either British heavyweight.

“I think he will probably want to be doing something in between, let’s see,” Warren said.

“AJ has got his fight. Tyson, I’m quite sure, will have a fight in between. That’s what he’s asking for and we’ll see where we go from there.”

- George Sessions

HEAVYWEIGHT GOLDEN ERA: TALE OF THE TAPE 👑

 

Four legends, four defining legacies. From the raw power of Foreman to the tactical brilliance of Ali, the dominance of Norton, and the relentless pressure of Frazier. This wasn’t just an era — it was the standard for all who followed.

#GeorgeForeman #MuhammadAli #KenNorton #JoeFrazier #HeavyweightBoxing

- rtfight.com

TYSON FURVY VS. ARSLANBEK MAKHAMUDOV | FULL FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS

 

TYSON FURVY VS ARSLANBEK MAKHAMUDOV | TALE OF THE TAPE

 

TALKS ARE UNDERWAY FOR TYSON FURY V ANTHONY JOSHUA FIGHT AT CROCK PARK IN WHAT COULD BE KATIE TAYLOR'S FAREWELL SHOW

 

Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury could be set to meet at Croke Park (Zac Goodwin/Bradley Collyer/PA)

Rumours that Anthony Joshua’s long-awaited heavyweight fight against Tyson Fury could be staged in Dublin later this year have been rippling through the boxing grapevine over the last few weeks and now it has been confirmed that talks are underway to stage the contest at Croke Park in September.

Fury will make his return to boxing when he takes on Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night and he has been speaking about the prospect of finally facing Joshua later this year in the build-up to the fight.

The two British fighters have come close to a showdown on numerous occasions in the past, but deals for the fight to take place have fallen through.

Now influential Saudi Arabian promoter Turki Alalshikh is pushing to get the fight into the diary at last, with Dublin appearing to be the favoured venue for the fight.

A Joshua vs Fury bout in Dublin would also give Katie Taylor a chance to realise her last big dream of a fight at Croke Park, with the stadium’s chief executive Peter McKenna telling the BBC that a deal is being negotiated.

"The real hope is that we will get Tyson Fury here later on in the year. That would be such a world-billing event that we would be able to facilitate a Katie Taylor fight here," said McKenna.

"A lot of stars need to align. Katie's manager needs to agree, Katie's promoter needs to agree, Tyson Fury's promoter needs to agree.

"I am very confident that all three are coming to the sense that this is one of Ireland's greatest sporting athletes and it would be such a 'wow' to have her here and for her to finish her career here."

Security costs have been cited as one of the reasons why Taylor has been denied the chance to fight at Croke Park throughout her professional career, with her promoter Eddie Hearn failing to reach an agreement to allow the Bray-born boxer to fight in front of what is certain to be a sell-out crowd.

Joshua’s last fight came against YouTuber Jake Paul last December and he has yet to confirm when he will make a return to the ring after he was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two of his close friends.

- Kevin Palmer

DEONTAY WILDER REACT AFTER WIN OVER CHISORA

 

DEONTAY WILDER CONFRONTS ANTHONY JOSHUA AFTER FIGHT | 'LETS DO THIS'

DEONTAY WILDER VS. DEREK CHISORA | FULL FIGHT HIGHLIGHTS