It looks like Croatian heavyweight Filip Hrgovic is in position to win his Queensberry Promotions main event Saturday night and then be the next opponent in a lucrative, contender showdown with phenom Moses Itauma in August.
Has the opponent for rising heavyweight phenom Moses Ituama been decided upon? All appearances are that should he win his main event with the same promoter as Ituama, big Croatian Filip Hrgovic will be that fighter.
First, Hrgovic, former Bronze Medalist for Croatia in the 2016 Olympics and a perennial top 10 fighter this decdae must get by English journeyman David Allen. They are headlinging a 10 round bout for Queesberry promotions Saturday night in Doncaster, England. The bout will stream worldwide on DAZN.
Hrgovic, 19-1, 14 KOs, will turn 34 years old on June 4th and has defeated Joe Joyce and David Adeleye in two other contender battles, recently. He had been stopped on cuts by Brit Daniel Dubois in IBF vacant, interim title fight in Saudi Arabia in June 2024 for his only career loss.
The 34-year-old veteran Allen, 25-8-2 20 KOs, isn't expected to be much of a threat for the hulking Croat, but then again, it's boxing and Hrgovic needs to take care of his business.
And, if/when he does Saturday, Boxingscene.com is reporting that it's expect Queensberry promoter Frank Warren will offer him the Itauma fight.
The 21 year old Itauma, 14-0, 12 KOs, scored a thunderous knockout of American Jermaine Franklin back in late March in the Manchester Co-Op Live Arena. The performance was even more impressive considering Franklin had gone the distance in his only two previous defeats — against former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and longtime contender and former title challenger Dillian Whyte.
The 21 year old Itauma had also demolished an older, diminished version of Whyte in the first round last August in Saudi Arabia. His next fight will be August 8th at London’s O2 Arena in London. That date was moved back two weeks after Joshua's 2026 return on PPV was announced for the same original date of July 25th
There has been some belief that Itauma will be fighting newly crowned WBO heavyweight titleholder Daniel Dubois, who just pummeled champ Fabio Wardley into a TKO loss last Saturday night. Dubois is also promoted by Warren, however, Wardley is entitled to a rematch, if he exercises it, with Dubois first.
Also, on our recent "Fight Freaks Unite Recap Podcast," insider Dan Rafael reported that, even if Wardley doesn't want the rematch, that there would be no change Queensberry would put Dubois with Itauma this quickly for early August. This, as opposed to letting Itauma win another significant fight with a legit opponent and then, build a possible WBO showdown late this year or early, 2027.
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Finally, a further clue is Itauma is expected to be at ringside for the Queensberry’s show Saturday night at Keepmoat Stadium in Doncaster. And, a Hrgovic win will likely see both of them in the ring post fight talking about August.