Moses Itauma shoves Filip Hrgovic at weigh-in ahead of vacant IBF heavyweight title fight
Heavyweights Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic clashed physically at their weigh-in on Friday ahead of their vacant IBF title bout at London's O2 Arena.
Tensions boiled over during the weigh-in on Friday ahead of the vacant IBF heavyweight title bout between Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic at London's O2 Arena. Itauma, the 21-year-old British boxer, shoved the 34-year-old Croatian off the stage while Hrgovic was posing for spectators. Hrgovic returned to the platform and slapped Itauma before security personnel and team members separated both fighters.
The confrontation followed verbal exchanges during the face-off, where both heavyweights traded insults before Saturday's headline contest.
I just told him what's gonna happen; I'll smash him. He pushed me first, so I just give him [something] back, you know? He started [it].
Itauma addressed the altercation directly following the incident.
I was ready to go. I don't know, I just lost it a little bit [...] I had a little itch, and I just had to scratch it.
Promoter Frank Warren stated that Itauma was attempting to establish authority before stepping into the ring on Saturday. Itauma enters the fight after stopping Jermaine Franklin in March and defeating Dillian Whyte in under two minutes in his previous bout. Hrgovic enters the contest following points victories over David Adeleye and Joe Joyce, as well as a stoppage win over Dave Allen in May, with his sole professional defeat coming against Daniel Dubois in 2024.
