Moses Itauma was lining up two other names to fight before his contest with Filip Hrgovic was fully sealed.
Itauma is a man on the rise and is keen to keep testing himself at the next level. So far, no one has been able to take him beyond six rounds, with most of his opponents succumbing to his punching power within the first two, including Dillian Whyte, who was stopped in the opening round when the pair fought last year.
Now he takes a big step up against Hrgovic, who has lost just once by KO to two-time world heavyweight ruler Daniel Dubois.
Speaking to talkSPORT Boxing, Itauma’s manager Francis Warren Warren admitted that his man was keen to get a fight locked in and so Arslanbek Makhmudov and Justis Huni were both spoken to before Hrgovic eventually reappeared, got back in contact and signed for the fight.
“At the eleventh hour, he said, ‘Actually, I want a bout agreement. We are delighted that Hrgovic has signed, as it is a gateway to world titles.”
Hrgovic is likely the biggest test of the three: Makhmudov’s best win to date was against Dave Allen after 12 rounds, while he lost to Tyson Fury last time out in April, and Justis Huni is best known for being knocked out late on by Fabio Wardley before then beating Frazer Clarke on the Fury v Makhmudov undercard.
