Hrgovic Says Itauma Was His Toughest Test — Not Dubois or Kabayel

Filip Hrgovic has already beaten the best man in the heavyweight division — and it wasn't a world champion. That's the read from Croatia's first-ever world heavyweight titleholder, who stopped 21-year-old Moses Itauma in the ninth round last month to lift the IBF belt and hand the phenom his first pro defeat, dropping Itauma to 14-0 (12 KO).

It was a full-blown upset. Itauma went in a heavy favourite, floored Hrgovic in the second, and banked the first eight rounds behind blistering speed. Then the gas ran out. The 34-year-old pounced on a suddenly stationary opponent to end it in the ninth — and, in the process, denied Itauma a shot at becoming the youngest heavyweight champ since Mike Tyson.

Now Hrgovic wants to unify, and he's not shy about ranking the field. Speaking to talkSPORT, he argued that Itauma was the fastest, most talented and most awkward opponent the division could throw at him, and that both WBO champion Daniel Dubois and WBC champion Agit Kabayel represent easier stylistic nights.

The Logic Behind the Claim

Hrgovic's reasoning is about style as much as skill. Itauma is a young, explosive southpaw — the kind of speed problem that gives orthodox heavyweights fits. Dubois and Kabayel aren't lefties and don't bring the same hand speed, even if Hrgovic concedes both are more experienced and will still be tough. He said he expects to handle them far more comfortably than he did the kid.

The numbers don't make his job simple, though. Kabayel is a perfect 27-0 (19 KO) and coming off a third-round stoppage of Damian Knyba. Dubois is 23-3 (22 KO) with a brutal finish rate, most recently halting Fabio Wardley in the 11th. Between them they hold the WBC and WBO straps — the exact hardware Hrgovic needs for the unification he's chasing.

There's also unfinished business with Dubois. The pair met in 2024 and Hrgovic lost, stopped on cuts in the eighth, so the confidence talk cuts both ways. Before any of that, though, Hrgovic faces a mandatory defence against Frank Sanchez, 26-1 (19 KO), who just iced Richard Torrez in two. Big names are lining up. Hrgovic just insists the biggest test is already behind him.