One of the top lightweights in the U.K. will be in the co-feature fight on the upcoming Moses Itauma-Filip Hrgovic undercard on August 29th. This, as Queensberry Promotions announced Sam Noakes will fight former WBO champ Denys Berinchyk.
One of the U.K.'s top lightweights will be in the co-main event on the August 29th card headlined by heavyweight sensation Moses Itauma taking on Filip Hrgovic. Queensberry Promotions has announced Tuesday that Sam Noakes will face former WBO lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk.
Noakes (18-1, 16 KOs) enters the bout riding the momentum of a second round TKO win over Benito Sanchez Garcia back in May. The win marked a strong rebound for the 28-year-old Briton after suffering the lone loss of his career in a hard fought, narrow decision defeat to American Abdullah Mason last November in a fight for the vacant WBO lightweight title. That bout was a candidate for the 2025 fight of the year.
Noakes ascended in the WBO rankings with a series of five wins from January 2024 through May of 2025.
Speaking of the WBO lightweight title, former champion Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KOs) of Ukraine has been out of action since last February, when he lost that title to American Keyshawn Davis via fourth-round knockout. The 38-year-old captured the WBO belt in his previous outing in mid-2024, edging Emanuel Navarrete by split decision.
Davis was stripped of the WBO title for missing weight in a title defense last Summer and that set the Noakes-Mason vacant title fight into motion.
Back to the show on August 29th, it will be at London's O2 Arena and to be offered on DAZN PPV.
The 21 year old Itauma, 14-0, 12 KOs, is arguably the top young heavyweight in the world and is currently ranked #1 by the World Boxing Organization. In his most recent outing, Itauma delivered a devastating knockout victory over American heavyweight Jermaine Franklin in late March at Manchester's Co-op Live Arena.
Itauma is currently in line to face the winner of the Daniel Dubois–Fabio Wardley rematch for the WBO heavyweight title. Dubois stopped Wardley by TKO in April, but Wardley has exercised his contractual rematch clause, with the second fight expected later this year.
There is, however, a potential complication. If Wardley pulls off the upset, a fight with Itauma would be difficult to make, as both heavyweights are trained by renowned British coach Ben Davison. If Dubois wins the rematch, the path to an Itauma world title shot becomes far more straightforward.
That brings the focus back to Hrgovic.
The 34-year-old Croatian is coming off a dominant TKO victory over veteran British heavyweight David Allen last month, improving his record to 20-1 with 14 knockouts. Hrgovic was previously the IBF's No. 1 contender before suffering the first loss of his career to Dubois in their 2024 title eliminator in Saudi Arabia.
Hrgovic has also earned recent wins over British heavyweights Joe Joyce and David Adeleye, making him a recognizable name in the UK market. A showdown between Hrgovic and Itauma represents opportunity for Queensberry, with strong potential at both the live gate and on pay-per-view.
Also, announced Tuesday further down the card, heavy-handed British cruiserweight Aloys Junior, 11-1, takes on veteran former world title challenger Mike Perez in a 10 round bout.
