Dubois Sizes Up Itauma vs Hrgovic: 'Let's See What Moses Can Do'

Daniel Dubois has been on the receiving end of Filip Hrgovic's work, and he's not pretending he knows how the Croatian's next night ends. Ahead of Hrgovic's O2 Arena meeting with Moses Itauma this coming Saturday for the vacant IBF heavyweight title, the WBO champion refused to pick a winner — a rare move for a man who's traded punches with one of the two combatants.

The stakes are stacked. Itauma, 14-0 with 12 knockouts and ranked #6, would become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson dethroned Trevor Berbick in 1986 if his hand goes up. The belt is one of the three titles Oleksandr Usyk relinquished back in June, leaving a wide-open division and a genuine changing of the guard on the table.

Why Dubois Isn't Guessing

Dubois knows exactly how difficult Hrgovic is to solve. When they met in 2024, plenty of observers had the Croatian ahead on the cards before a series of cuts forced a stoppage after the eighth round. Dubois took the win, kicked on to become a two-time world champion, and now sits at 23-3 (22 KO) off an eleventh-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley. Hrgovic, meanwhile, is still hunting his first major belt.

Speaking to Frank Warren's Queensberry, Dubois described Hrgovic as a tough, experienced animal of a fighter and called the matchup with Itauma a proper dust-up. He said the whole division — the whole world — would be watching, and left it at that. No prediction, just respect for both men.

The Case for the Favourite

Itauma has been installed as a sizable betting favourite, and the numbers explain why: a 12-KO haul in 14 fights, still barely into his twenties, and momentum that hasn't stalled. But context matters. His last opponent, Jermaine Franklin, went in five rounds in March — and that's the same Franklin who Hrgovic simply beats. Hrgovic represents a clear step up in seasoning and durability.

Read between Dubois's lines and the message is straightforward: this is the sternest test Itauma has faced, and it's the kind of fight where experience can drag a prodigy into deep water. Whether the youngster passes tells us plenty about the pecking order in a division suddenly missing its lineal king.