Moses Itauma's first shot at a world title takes place this evening against Filip Hrgovic at the O2 Arena in London, with the vacant IBF heavyweight world title on the line.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed a meteoric rise in boxing since making his professional debut over three years ago. After knocking out Mariusz Wach, Demsey McKean and Mike Balogun, the Chatham brawler showed he was ready for the elite level following back-to-back stoppage wins over Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin. He will be looking to become the second youngest heavyweight world champion tonight with a win over Hrgovic.
Hrgovic aims to make Croatian history
Itauma's adversary has other ideas, however. Hrgovic is looking to make history by becoming the first Croatian heavyweight champion. The 34-year-old has been on a roll since suffering the first loss of his professional career to Daniel Dubois three years ago. Hrgovic has since beaten British fighters Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen.
Start time and how to watch
The first fight is due to get underway at around 4:00pm UK time (11am ET / 10am CT / 8am PT). The main card is set to start at 6.30pm UK time (1:30pm ET / 12:30pm CT / 10:30am CT). In the main event, Hrgovic will likely make the walk to the ring first at roughly 10pm UK time (5pm ET / 4pm CT / 2pm PT) with Itauma set to follow immediately after. All fight times are subject to change and will depend on how long the undercard takes to complete.
Tonight's showdown will be streamed live on DAZN pay-per-view at a cost of £24.99. The event will be shown on DAZN in over 200 countries worldwide via a DAZN subscription. An annual Super Saver subscription is a one-off payment of £119.99 / $224.99 for 12 months or £14.99 / $19.99 per month should customers wish to pay in monthly instalments, while a Monthly Flexible pass - which can be cancelled at any time - costs £24.99 / $29.99 per month.
Full fight card
- Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic
- Constantin Ursu vs Ben Vaughan
- Sam Noakes vs Denys Berinchyk
- Nelson Hysa vs Thomas Narmo
- Aloys Youmbi vs Sherif Musah
- Tony Curtis vs Imad Naseeb
- Arbnor Jashari vs Numan Hussain
- Guido Vianello vs Moses Jolly
- Frankie Wood vs Callum Lee
- Sam King vs Jack Swallow
- Zayn Ahmed vs Liam Fitzmaurice
- Hassan Ishaq vs Enzo Bahiano Munoz
Quotes corner
Moses Itauma: “I’ve always wanted to start off like Mike Tyson but don’t end up how Mike Tyson ended up. But now I’m in the shoes that Mike Tyson was, as in all the fame and accolades at such a young age, I’m starting to see and realise why he fell off the way he did. I just don’t want to make the same mistakes he made. I’m wrapping my head around these things and I guess that’s why I’m so heavily into books because I ain’t never been in this position before. There is such thing as too early, but I’m taking necessary precautions to handle it the way I believe I should.”
Filip Hrgovic: “I am just telling you facts. I am not playing any games. I just tell you what I think in the moment. Like I said, I am not so smart to play these mind games. I think he is a kid, he is not mature enough and I think I am the man. I am a much better age, much more experience and yeah, that is it. No mind games. God willing you know I will beat him, I’ll smash the kid on Saturday and send him back to high school.”
