Itauma to fight for IBF heavyweight title, eyeing youngest-champion record since Tyson

Tonight at around 12:30 Latvian time, Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic will enter the ring to fight for the International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight title. The 21-year-old British boxer has a chance to become the youngest heavyweight champion in boxing history since Mike Tyson, who won his first title in 1986 at the age of 20 years and 145 days.

Itauma already holds the World Boxing Organization (WBO) intercontinental title and enters the bout unbeaten in 14 professional fights, with 12 wins coming by early stoppage. Bookmaker ″LVBet″ has set odds of 1.11 for an Itauma win, compared to 5.9 for a Hrgovic victory. The Croatian fighter expressed disbelief at being rated so low, noting the odds compared his chances to those of Jake Paul against Anthony Joshua.

The 34-year-old Hrgovic has a professional record of 20 wins and one loss, having lost to Daniel Dubois in 2024 in a bid for the interim IBF title. Since that defeat, he has claimed the IBF intercontinental and WBO international titles.

Tense weigh-in

At Friday's official weigh-in, both fighters were lighter than in their previous bouts — Itauma weighed in at 109.6 kilograms, Hrgovic at 107.1 kilograms. Tensions flared during the event when Hrgovic stepped toward Itauma, who responded with a push, prompting a slap from the Croatian.

Before the weigh-in, Itauma addressed comparisons to Tyson, saying he always wanted to start his career like Tyson but not end it the same way. He said he has taken up reading books to help process the fame and pressure of his new position, a situation he has not faced before.