Itauma-Hrgovic is now for the Vacant IBF Heavyweight World Championship

Yes, old Fish Eyes will very likely have a dishonest referee and judges working the fight.

I remember Dubois repeatedly head butting and cutting Hrgovic for the TKO win, and the dishonest referee never saying anything.

Dubois tried the same in round one against Joshua, and the referee immediately warned him! And after that he stopped fighting dirty and beat Joshua with legal blows.

 

Its certainly more worthy of a title fight than Itauma V Sanchez for the belt.

 

Yeah - I think as soon as Hrgovic gets cut, the fight will be over. Unlike Itauma obviously.

His resistance to cuts is genuinely quite astonishing.

 

Actually makes the fight so much more interesting and probably justifies the PPV now. I've been furious for months that this is PPV because it's basically a gatekeeper fight, and Bricktop manages to get the IBF strap on the line, with Hrgovic potentially becoming the first-ever Croatian world HW champion and Itauma becoming the second-youngest HW belt holder of all time.

If Itauma wins and then fights Frank Sanchez next at the age of 21, I don't see how anyone can claim he is being carefully managed. This is exciting stuff, it's just a shame we never got to see Usyk put all the belts on the line against Itauma if he does beat both Hrgovic and Sanchez.

 

Harrison was a complete dud as a pro. After winning gold he was widely seen as the next Lewis. David Price was similarly overhyped, seen as the next Klitschko. ESPN rated him as "prospect of the year" in 2011 or 2012.

 

Apart from cuts against Dubois, Hrgovic hasn't been stopped. I've seen it over and over again where a KO artist comes in against a veteran and is expected to knock him out. It is rare. Itauma should be ready to fight 12.

 

Glad to see Sanchez makes a pretty penny and not being shafted because of this.

 

I'm pulling for Hrgovic. I want him to show up and pull off a career best performance, beat Ituama pillar to post, knock him out late.

Yeah yeah if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle, but still. I'm pulling for him.

 

Hrgovic cuts so easily but t's not like his corner isn't ready for it. It's to be expected that he's going to get a bad cut and they're going to need to stop it quick. Waiting for them to pull out a soldering iron by this point.

 

Anyone else think Sanchez is a dangerous fight for Itauma and the rest of the division?

Forget the Kabayel fight where he had one leg he has an absolute nightmare style hes happy to circle around the ring with a high guard then explode with legit power

Style wise I think Sanchez is very hard for Moses hes going to just not throw anything then randomly explode he has enough speed to catch him aswell, his high guard and chin is decent but vulnerable downstairs (but with 2 legs hes hard to catch clean) I dont think people should not overlook Sanchez if Itauma beats Hrgovic

 

I don't think I've ever seen the Warrens or the British Boxing establishment being this eager to hype up their next superstar. Not even AJ or Dubois were hyped and promoted to this level.

 

What I would say is that Itauma could have been more active in the last couple years. However, if he fights his mandatory by the end of the year - then that will be pretty impressive.

 

My worry is if Sanchez just cracks up like he did against Kabayel. But he has certainly proven he can beat hype jobs in his best night.

 

Yeah, I agree with that, I think he was being brought along fine until Queensberry tried to push the narrative of him being the youngest HW champion of all time and beating Tyson's record. There was no way he was going to do that with Usyk so dominant at the top, and I think that made people more reluctant to get in with him and ask for money because of the hysteria, and it slowed his progress.

Look at the likes of Jalolov and Teremoana. They're far more decorated, seasoned senior amateurs in their absolute physical prime who are still fighting walking punching bags 12 fights into their pro career. Jalolov has more pro fights than Moses, and he has fought nobody of any caliber.

I think if Teremoana keeps winning, he will be a problem for Itauma at some point, but the narrative that he is being protected or carefully managed is pretty baseless now, considering he's fighting Hrgovic in his 15th fight.

 

Would be something if he really did secure the #2 youngest spot all time behind Mike.