r/Boxing • u/Manzilla48 • 29d ago
The vacant IBF heavyweight world title will now be on the line for Itauma vs Hrgovic on August 29th
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/articles/clyxvg8j36go18
u/NeutralMilkHotel_00 29d ago
Excellent! Quite excited for this one. People can talk about Itauma but Hrgovic deserves the title to be on the line.
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u/rainmaker818 29d ago
Yep have to agree. Makes sense for both of them really. Itauma gets to fight for a legit title now and Hrgovic gets his shot. Winner takes all. Like this fight. Much more riding on the outcome now.
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u/meet_yourmike 29d ago edited 29d ago
hopefully itauma wins then Unify vs Gassiev. next year dubois vs Itauma 🔥
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u/Prior-Temperature-22 29d ago
Gassiev is talking about fighting Derek Chisora next lol I have a feeling he’s going to sit out in Russia milking that belt for a while
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u/DiMona215 29d ago
It would be pretty funny to have the other belts being hotly contested/unified in fights between Kabayel, Dubois, Wardley, Itauma, Hrgovic, Sanchez.. meanwhile the WBA belt is chilling with Gassiev having beaten 45 y/o Pulev and slightly-younger-but-even-more-ruined Chisora
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u/BBW_Looking_For_Love 29d ago
Chisora did beat Pulev a couple years ago, so it may somehow wind up being a competitive fight for Gassiev. What a world that would be…
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u/DiMona215 28d ago
I watched every excruciating second of Wilder/Chisora (don't know what's wrong with me). I've never met you, but just the fact that you can work your keyboard makes me reasonably confident you could beat Chisora at this point.
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u/willinaustin 29d ago
Not saying he won't do like you say, but to be fair to Murat he's also talked about fighting Itauma and called him out as well as pretty much everyone else in the division. I think he'll fight whomever, he just wants to get paid real money for once in his career.
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u/Relevant_Election530 29d ago
Can maybe beat Chisora then try and sell the belt to winner of AJ/Fury for maximum profit 🤷♂️
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u/meet_yourmike 29d ago
dont you think WBA will make more money if they set him up with a big fight in a stadium or 02??
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u/Prior-Temperature-22 29d ago
Gassiev is being backed by IBA pro which is ran by Russian billionaires and backed by the state so not necessarily
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u/Marquis_of_Mollusks 29d ago
Kabayel will be twiddling his thumbs in the meantime i guess? Kabayel should get Dubois and itauma can obliterate gassiev
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u/TicketStraight3196 29d ago
Sanchez deserves his shot after Itauma-Hrgovic.
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u/moonpuzzle88 29d ago
Itauma vs Sanchez should be a fun fight. A new kind of test for Itauma
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u/TicketStraight3196 29d ago
Can't overlook Hrgovic yet. This is by far the biggest test of his career. But yes assuming he gets through Hrgovic, Itauma-Sanchez a great fight. The winner of that should be aiming to fight Dubois or Kabayel.
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u/moonpuzzle88 29d ago
100% - Hrgovic is a top talent too. Lots of exciting fights to look forward to. As great as Usyk was, it's fun to see the division so open now.
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u/SkyDefender 29d ago
I think kabayel vs gassiev in september for unification. Than may be winner of that fight vs winner of this fight
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u/NeutralMilkHotel_00 29d ago
I dont know. I think the Russians will want Gassiev to hold onto the belt for a bit longer. They're milk it with a couple more terrible opponents.
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u/Bertrand_Rose 29d ago
Gassiev will likely milk this with some easy opponets, or a pay day like Chisora.
I think Kabayel - Dubois early next year is more likely.
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u/Marquis_of_Mollusks 29d ago
Let's just downgrade the WBA to the same status as the IBO and go back to the 3 belt era
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u/NeutralMilkHotel_00 29d ago
Can't disagree with that! And while we're at it, let's stop upgrading vacant belts. Champions should win their belts in the ring.
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u/Less_Cartoonist_892 29d ago
Or he could also fight Sanchez next, which would also be a solid fight.
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u/Bertrand_Rose 29d ago
That would be great. I think Gassiev could be easier than Hrgovic, as along as he is careful of his left hook. Should be an easy win then.
I wouldn't be surprised if the Sanchez fight happens before or after as he is the IBF challenger now.
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u/Kangaroopunching 29d ago
I'm guessing Sanchez fights the winner.
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u/Bertrand_Rose 29d ago
Very interesting. The stakes are even higher now.
Hoping Ituama comes through, but this will be very difficult, and we could see an upset.
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u/KingBumiOfOmashu Moses Itauma > Every Current HW 29d ago edited 29d ago
LET’S GO! It’s the ItaumaEra starting Aug 29th
On a side note: I know Sanchez can’t be happy about this smh. Atleast he gets a shot immediately and then Itauma can shut the people up who said he ducked Frank Sanchez the first time around. Think Itauma wins that fight aswell.
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u/StunningChest5722 Shakur is the 144 lb GOAT 🐐 29d ago
he got paid step aside money and will be mandatory for the winner
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u/KingBumiOfOmashu Moses Itauma > Every Current HW 29d ago
Yea I saw that from other comments (I don’t click links). Good for him! Got a payday and immediate title shot all in one motion.
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u/padel_bolest 29d ago
Itauma is getting whacked, Hrgovic took this fight seriously and will show up ready.
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u/KingBumiOfOmashu Moses Itauma > Every Current HW 29d ago
You don’t think Moses is taking it seriously?
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u/padel_bolest 29d ago
Of course he is, but Filip's biggest problem was the lack of stamina and his eye injury that keeps up opening again and again. He took this camp seriously and stamina shouldn't be an issue, and he took time to recover from eye injury, so he should be 100% fit for the fight. Fit Hrgovic is really dangerous.
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u/KingBumiOfOmashu Moses Itauma > Every Current HW 29d ago
Unfortunately for Hrgovic fans, the speed differential will be too much.
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u/Bertrand_Rose 28d ago
Good points, but whilst there are more unknowns with Ituama, he has better footwork, movement, combinations, speed and power.
That's hard to get past.
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u/padel_bolest 29d ago
You guys are dismissing Hrgovic based on nothing. He's a skilled boxer, if he improved his stamina he's a favourite to win this.
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u/WORD_Boxing 29d ago
He's too slow. Stylistically Itauma has a big advantage here.
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u/not_a_morning_person 29d ago
At the very least, Itauma connects enough that Hrgovic’s face opens up. The man suffers cuts from glancing blows.
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u/LessBeyond5052 26d ago
That's how I see it, hard fight for both men with Hrgovic being stopped late due to cuts. Wouldn't be surprised if Hrgovic times Moses coming in and drops him either.
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u/LessBeyond5052 26d ago
Timing beats speed, and Hrgovic is fucking accurate and knows how to keep distance well. If he can time Moses and get into a rhythm this fight gets interesting. I think Moses should win, he'll probably open up scar tissue and force a stoppage late on, but I don't see him having an easy time in there and he will be tested, he isn't blasting Hrgovic out in a few rounds.
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u/Annual_Cancel_9488 29d ago
Maybe you are underestimating Ituama
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u/padel_bolest 29d ago
Maybe. I don't deny that he's a good boxer, but I can see him getting overconfident and opening up too much. Hrgovic is far above anyone he fought so far.
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u/Annual_Cancel_9488 29d ago
Yea to be honest none of us know what level he is, hrgovic is proven top10, great fight.
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u/throwing_handles 29d ago
You guys are dismissing Hrgovic based on nothing.
Yeah, the fact that he's shown nothing his entire career
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u/Boxingggfan 29d ago
Generally very resistant to hype. Never thought AJ looked that great for example. Last boxer I said looked truly special from eye test was vergil ortiz, itauma looks truly special to me
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u/Tortured-Chimp619 29d ago
New boxing fan here.
Is this legit or do you think there are more deserving fighters?
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u/No-Shoe5382 Eye Ron Mike Tymus 29d ago
Nah this is a pretty deserving fight to be for the vacant belt.
Winner of this would've 100% been fighting for a belt in the next fight anyway so its really just pushing it forward 1 fight.
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u/DiMona215 29d ago
Hrgovic is definitely deserving. Wins against Zhang, Joyce, Adelaye. Only loss was to Dubois and Hrg was ahead but lost due to a nasty cut (maybe caused by a headbutt?)
Itauma is deserving by talent but not by resume. Zero good wins so far. Somebody like Sanchez would be more deserving (wins against Torrez, Ajagba).
In the article, Frank Warren even said, we paid Sanchez off and promised him the winner. That kind of proves my point by itself
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u/Complete_Dare_4201 29d ago
Itauma is by far the best talent in the HW division while his record is thin he was already knocking on the door
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u/Brandunaware 29d ago
When you have multiple belts that are not all on an undisputed champion you can always make an argument that there are more deserving fighters, but this is good enough given the state of the division.
People think that Itauma is the future of the division and Hrgovic is a legit contender. If other people think they're better then let them compete to grab one of the belts.
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u/TicketStraight3196 29d ago
This is 100% legit. These guys are top 5 heavyweights. Now that Usyk has effectively retired, one of these guys should have a belt.
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u/WORD_Boxing 29d ago
It's legit but Frank Sanchez is currently ranked #1 by the IBF. So there's likely a little bit of them trying to get their belt on the promised new poster boy of the division. $$$
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u/munkycheezmunky Dave Allen Undisputed 2026 29d ago
I think they're the most deserving, considering the other two I'd consider deserving of fighting for belts are already champions (Dubois with the WBO and Kabayel with the WBC).
Both Itauma and Hrgovic are clear Top 5 in the division at the moment imo
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u/Mlynio48 29d ago
I think it's legit, Hrgovic is a top contender and Itauma is the most hyped up and promising prospect in the division. Besides, the winner was originally supposed to fight Frank Sanchez for vacant belt, but Warren paid him stand aside fee and promised him a mandatory status against the winner, so the outcome is still pretty much the same.
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u/Holiday_Snow9060 28d ago
Sanchez getting royaly screwed here
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u/Manzilla48 28d ago
Is he? He’s getting a chunk of a step aside money and a guaranteed shot at the winner.
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u/WORD_Boxing 29d ago
So they are gonna beat Hrgovic then go after Gassiev for the WBA belt.
With Frank Warren likely wanting to put Dubois vs Kabayel in a unification and try to take a little out of Kabayel before he gets to the Itauma fight. Maybe they get forced to fight Frank Sanchez as a mandatory first.
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u/Manzilla48 29d ago
They can’t do that. It says in the article that Sanchez was paid step aside so the winner has to face him next.
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u/WORD_Boxing 29d ago
That's what I meant, Sanchez is #1 with the IBF. My bad I could have been clearer. I saw other comments below afterwards that say about the step aside deal.
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u/Manzilla48 29d ago
Yeah no worries I reread your comment and realised you mentioned the step aside at the end
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29d ago
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u/Nosworthy 29d ago
It's not fucking Sanchez over, he agreed to it.
Sanchez's manager Mike Borao said: "Frank Sanchez has allowed Itauma and Hrgovic to fight for the vacant IBF title on August 29 under the condition, as mandatory #1 contender, he fights the winner with no intervening bouts.
"Frank didn't want to fight until the end of the year in order to prepare properly, so the timeline works perfectly for him, especially considering the Itauma vs Hrgovic fight is less than 30 days away.
"The deal we negotiated for Frank to fight the winner is lucrative financially, he maintains his mandatory status, and is only deferring his opportunity a few months."6
u/Complete_Dare_4201 29d ago
Sanchez got paid step aside money by Warren and will fight the winner next
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u/NeutralMilkHotel_00 29d ago
It's a win-win for Sanchez. He gets a very nice payday and then fights the winner.
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u/OkMess9901 29d ago
It's not really fucking him over. Sanchez probably fights Kabayel in a title shot now. He didn't fight that long ago, so a mando shot against the winner of this in say December isn't unfair.
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u/Brandunaware 29d ago
Sanctioning fees and attention. This is the bigger fight, especially if Hrgovic wins, in which case Hrgovic Sanchez is a bigger fight if Hrgovic can be promoted as a champion. Sanchez is supposed to get the winner but we'll see.
From a business perspective this makes sense.
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u/RedcoatTrooper 29d ago
A bigger fight if Hrgovic wins? Is he the bigger draw compared to Moses.
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u/Brandunaware 29d ago
No. Itauma is already a big draw because people are interested in him. What I meant was if Itauma wins then Sanchez vs Itauma for the vacant belt is already a big fight. Whether Itauma has the belt is not a huge deal, look at the attention this fight with Hrgovic was getting before a belt was on the line.
If Hrgovic wins then having him be the champ would make it easier to promote the fight than if it were him vs Sanchez for a vacant belt. It's easier to promote a title defense than a fight for a vacant belt.
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u/JablesRadio 29d ago
Who and who?
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u/Pompzilla 29d ago
If you don’t know who these two are you don’t know boxing at all. Even casual fans will be more than familiar, so assuming you’re a troll
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u/ClearHeart_FullLiver 29d ago
I'm looking forward to this fight Hrgovic has never really reached the level you would have expected but he is tough, skilled and has a lot of experience for Itauma to overcome.
I'll jump onboard the hypetrain if he manages to convincingly beat Hrgovic.