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 

'GLADIATOR' ANTHONY JOSHUA WEIGHS IN SLIGHTLY HEAVIER THAN DANIEL DUBOIS

Matchroom Boxing 

Hundreds of boxing fans packed London's Trafalgar Square on Friday to watch Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois weigh in and face off for the final time before their IBF heavyweight title fight at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.

Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) weighed in at 252 pounds, slightly heavier than Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), who topped the scales at 248 pounds.

After stepping off the scales, Joshua made a plea to fans, most of whom were cheering for him over his opponent.

"If I can ask you one favour, go home tonight and make a prayer for me, for success tomorrow, that I will become three-time heavyweight champion of the world," Joshua said.

"I look at myself as a gladiator, and I'm about to step into an arena tomorrow to perform for the people who love to see blood, guts and glory."

Dubois was slightly more reserved and appeared laser-focused.

"I'm ready to fight, just time to get in the ring and fight. I'm ready to go. A lot of work going into this, a lot of training. I win by any means necessary," Dubois said.

The weigh-in brought to a close an eventful fight week that has seen events take place at some of London's most iconic venues -- including media duties at Old Billingsgate, a photoshoot in front of Tower Bridge, grand arrivals in Leicester Square and a news conference at the Guildhall, built in 1440.

"With Riyadh season, they really do push the limits. In Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, we took over Santa Monica Pier [and] the Chinese Theatre," Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, told ESPN.

"This is obviously Trafalgar Square ... so one, it's a lot closer to home, and two, it's a considerable cost and investment to do [hold events].

"It's been incredible the whole week, and this is the icing on the cake before what will be a historic night at Wembley tomorrow.

Of Joshua, Hearn said he is in career-best shape, but warned Dubois will offer a tough test.

"AJ's in a place that I've never seen him in before. I mean, I'm always nervous about his fights, but he just mentally, physically looks so ready. But Dubois is a handful, it's not going to be an easy fight," Hearn said.

"But I believe he'll be victorious tomorrow and become three-time world heavyweight champion.

Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia's General Entertainment Authority, confirmed on Thursday that tickets had sold out, with a post-war-record crowd of 96,000 expected at Wembley on Saturday night.

Frank Warren, Dubois' promoter, said the event will be one to remember.

"Bombs away, that's what it's going to be," Warren said.

"I'm very excited, it's a massive massive fight and we're going to see fireworks tomorrow.

"[Dubois] is young man, just turned 27, he's shown what he's all about. He's calm, cool and collected. Tomorrow night, you're going to see something special."

- James Regan

OLEKSANDR USYK VACATING IBF TITLE AHEAD OF JOSHUA-DUBOIS BOUT

Action Images via Reuters 

 Oleksandr Usyk announced via Instagram on Tuesday that he is vacating the IBF heavyweight title, which now will be on the line when Anthony Joshua fights Daniel Dubois on Sept. 21 at London's Wembley Stadium.

IBF president Daryl Peoples confirmed to ESPN that the heavyweight title was vacant, but refuted reports that Dubois had been elevated to champion, saying no ruling has been made.

The Joshua-Dubois bout will be formally announced at a news conference Wednesday and will be the first Riyadh Season event in the U.K. The first such event outside the kingdom is the Aug. 3 Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov bout in Los Angeles.

Ukraine's Usyk ascended to the top spot in ESPN's pound-for-pound rankings when he defeated Tyson Fury via split decision last month in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the undisputed heavyweight championship.

Now, all four belts won't be on the line when Usyk meets Fury in the Dec. 21 rematch in Riyadh. The WBC, WBA and WBO titles will be up for grabs, but the IBF title will be contested between Joshua and Dubois.

Usyk's mandatory IBF title defense was overdue, and it was ruled going into his fight with Fury that the winner must face the mandatory challenger next or be stripped. With a two-fight deal in place, Usyk's move Tuesday was expected.

Dubois scored an eighth-round TKO victory over Filip Hrgovic, then the No. 1 contender, earlier this month in Riyadh to win the IBF interim title.

"Anthony and Daniel, listen: I know, IBF title important to you," Usyk said in his video Tuesday, calling his decision to vacate the belt "my present to you on Sept. 21."

Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) already owns wins over Joshua and Dubois. He scored consecutive decision victories over Joshua in 2021 and '22 before he knocked Dubois out in Round 9 of their August meeting.

Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and Dubois both hail from England. Joshua's past two fights took place in Riyadh, and now he'll return to the 90,000-plus-capacity Wembley Stadium, where he has headlined twice. Joshua, 34, is a former two-time heavyweight champion and ranked No. 3 in the division by ESPN. He's coming off a spectacular second-round knockout of former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in March.

Dubois is ESPN's No. 6 heavyweight. His other career defeat came against Joe Joyce, a 10th-round knockout in 2020.

- Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider

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