Why Moses Itauma Still Views Filip Hrgovic as 'Undefeated' Ahead of IBF Title Fight

Filip Hrgovic officially has one loss on his record, but Moses Itauma views his upcoming IBF heavyweight title fight opponent as undefeated.

Hrgovic suffered his first professional loss against Daniel Dubois, who stopped him with an eighth-round TKO in a vacant IBF title fight in 2024. Hrgovic entered the fight as a 2-1 favorite but suffered a nasty cut above his right eye that convinced the ringside doctor to stop the action.

Itauma believes that loss should not count as an official blemish on Hrgovic's record.

"I still think Hrgovic is undefeated," Itauma said, via DAZN. "He was winning pretty much every round against Dubois; he was up in that fight. The fight got stopped because of a cut. He couldn't have done anything about it. I'll give Daniel his props; he did win. But at the same time, I don't look at that fight as to take something away from Daniel."

Moses thinks Hrgovic is still undefeated 👀

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The numbers suggest that Hrgovic was competitive in that fight until the seventh round, when Dubois outlanded him 25-3, according to CompuBox. 'Dynamite' had the Croatian in all sorts of trouble in the seventh round before referee John Latham called time 57 seconds into the eighth stanza.

Since losing to Dubois, Hrgovic has put together a three-fight win streak against Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and David Allen to earn his second world title opportunity.

Moses Itauma faces Filip Hrgovic for vacant IBF heavyweight title

While Hrgovic has maintained his position atop the heavyweight division in the last two years, Itauma has since rocketed past him with dominant wins over Dillian Whyte, Demsey McKean, Mariusz Wach and Jermaine Franklin. The 21-year-old enters the IBF title fight as a colossal 8-1 favorite.

Should he live up to expectations, Itauma would famously become the youngest heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson stopped Trevor Berbick to win the WBC title in 1986. Tyson still owns the record as the youngest heavyweight world champion at 20 years old.

Winning the IBF belt would seemingly pit Itauma against Frank Sanchez, who has been the No. 1 contender since his upset win over Richard Torrez Jr. in May. However, Itauma is also the No. 1 contender for WBA titleholder Murat Gassiev and WBO champion Dubois.

Although Itauma is touting Hrgovic as the best opponent he has ever faced, the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist is not giving the young phenom the same credit. Hrgovic has openly called Itauma's record into question, claiming his two best wins — Whyte and Wach — both came against veterans well past their prime.

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