Filip Hrgović stops Moses Itauma to win vacant IBF heavyweight title

Filip Hrgović stopped Moses Itauma in the ninth round at The O2 in London on August 29, 2026, to win the vacant IBF heavyweight title and become Croatia’s first world heavyweight boxing champion.

Itauma, 21, controlled much of the early contest with speed and combinations and dropped the 34-year-old Croatian in the second round. The British fighter remained ahead through the middle rounds, but the momentum shifted late in the eighth as his pace and stamina faded.

Hrgović pressed forward in the ninth, forcing Itauma back to the ropes with a sustained attack. The referee intervened as Itauma’s trainer, Ben Davison, also threw in the towel, ending the previously unbeaten prospect’s bid to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion.

The result delivered one of the year’s biggest heavyweight upsets. It also gave Hrgović a landmark national achievement after he absorbed repeated combinations and recovered from the early knockdown to take control in the closing stages.

Sky Sports and The Guardian both reported the ninth-round stoppage, the vacant IBF title and Hrgović’s status as Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion.