Hrgović shocks Itauma to become IBF champion

Filip Hrgović came back after nine losing rounds to stop Moses Itauma in stunning fashion.

Filip Hrgović and Moses Itauma fought one of the most memorable bouts in a long time last night, as the Croatian trailed for nine rounds before suddenly making a comeback and brutally knocking out the 21-year-old.

Few expected Filip Hrgović to leave the ring as the winner, and to do so with a knockout victory, no less. Moses Itauma had already been consistently portrayed in the media as the early favorite, but in the end, things turned out differently. Although he got off to a much better start in the fight and even sent his opponent to the canvas in the second round, he ultimately ran out of steam, and Filip Hrgović took full advantage of that, forcing the referee to stop the fight. Filip Hrgović thus improves his record to 21-1 (16 KOs) and, with this victory, also wraps the IBF belt around his waist. However, neither boxer will be allowed to fight for the time being, as they apparently face a suspension. The suspension is reportedly due to the fact that both sustained a great deal of damage. To put that into perspective, the statistics show that Moses Itauma landed 163 out of 416 punches, and his power punch percentage was 50%. This result changes a lot of things. Moses Itauma failed the ultimate test, and Filip Hrgović was indeed able to claim victory. The big question now is what the future holds for them, especially for Moses Itauma.

I don’t even know what to say. I was pretty sure that Moses Itauma would win the fight. Now it’s twice as exciting to see what happens with his future.