Daniel Dubois delivers verdict on Moses Itauma vs Hrgovic
WBO champion Daniel Dubois says Filip Hrgovic is a tough, "animal type" fighter and will not pick a winner when Moses Itauma meets him for the vacant IBF heavyweight title at The O2 next Saturday, calling it a great dustup the whole division will watch.
Key Takeaways
- Daniel Dubois, who stopped Filip Hrgovic in 2024, calls him a tough, experienced "animal type" fighter ahead of the O2 clash.
- Moses Itauma faces Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight title after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished belts in June.
- A win would make Itauma the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson in 1986.
- Dubois stopped short of a pick, saying either man could win and the whole division will be watching.
- Itauma has also dropped a Nike-style DAZN trailer promoting the live title fight.
What did Daniel Dubois say about Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic?
Speaking to Frank Warren's Queensberry after sharing a ring with Hrgovic, Dubois refused to rule either man out. He described the Croatian as a "great fighter" who is "tough," an "animal type of guy," and experienced.
"It's going to be a [great] fight [with] Itauma," Dubois said, per Boxing News Online. "I'm definitely going to be watching and I think the whole division – the whole world – is going to be watching. It's a great dustup – let's see what Moses can do."
He stopped short of naming a winner, framing the bout as a genuine test rather than a foregone conclusion for the rising favourite.
Why does this fight matter for Moses Itauma?
The pair meet at The O2 Arena next Saturday for the vacant IBF title, part of the belts Usyk gave up in June. For Moses Itauma, victory would make him the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson beat Trevor Berbick in 1986.
Itauma has been installed as a sizable favourite, but Hrgovic is a clear step up from Jermaine Franklin, whom the Brit stopped in five rounds in March. More fight coverage sits on our True Crime & Unsolved Mysteries hub as the heavyweight picture keeps shifting.
According to The Sun, the 21-year-old Chatham southpaw is also bidding to become Britain's youngest-ever world champion, with the fight live on DAZN.
How tough a test is Hrgovic after facing Dubois?
Dubois knows the danger firsthand. In their 2024 meeting, many observers felt Hrgovic was ahead until cuts forced him out before the ninth round. Dubois won by eighth-round stoppage and later became a two-time world champion, while Hrgovic is still chasing a major belt.
That history underpins Dubois' view that Hrgovic can give Moses Itauma his hardest assignment yet. Hrgovic's only career defeat came via that eighth-round TKO to Dubois in June 2024, The Sun reported, and the Croat has argued Itauma lacks elite experience.
How is Moses Itauma promoting the Hrgovic showdown?
Ahead of fight week, DAZN released a first-person Nike-style trailer following Itauma's training, media duties, a Leicester Square premiere, and a helicopter arrival at The O2. The promo ends with the undefeated knockout artist walking to the ring for the biggest night of his career.
Whether Moses Itauma can tame "El Animal," as Boxing News Online put the challenge, is the question Dubois and the rest of the division will be watching to answer.