{
  "id": 4304386,
  "title": "Filip Hrgovic defeats Moses Itauma in London to become first Croatian heavyweight boxing champion",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/filip-hrgovic-defeats-moses-itauma-in-london-to-become-first-croatian-4304386",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-29T23:23:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Associated Press",
    "slug": "associated-press",
    "url": "https://apnews.com/article/itauma-hrgovic-heavyweight-title-ibf-00c15e336038d80487b4da815da88fff"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "LONDON (AP) — In a historic victory on Saturday, Filip Hrgovic, the 21-year-old Croatian boxer, stopped his British opponent Moses Itauma in the ninth round, securing the vacant IBF world heavyweight title for himself. Itauma's corner then called off the fight as Hrgovic's relentless pressure proved too much for the 34-year-old Itauma, who had only gone the distance in his first 14 professional bouts. Throughout the early rounds, Hrgovic showed remarkable resilience, absorbing a barrage of punches without succumbing. After the fight, Hrgovic expressed gratitude for his improved chin, stating, \"I was losing every round. I was outboxed. And I don't know from where I got energy. Chin is important.\" With this victory, Hrgovic now boasts a record of 22 wins and one loss, putting an end to Itauma's rapid ascent towards becoming the youngest heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson in 1986. Hrgovic emphasized that while Itauma is undoubtedly the future of the sport, he believes Itauma still needs more experience. Promoter Frank Warren has already announced Hrgovic's next opponent as Cuban fighter Frank Sanchez, but Hrgovic himself has expressed his desire to fight WBO champion Daniel Dubois and then WBC title holder Agit Kabayel, stating, \"I want unification. Frank Sanchez will wait.\"",
  "summary": "LONDON (AP) — Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma in the ninth round to hand the 21-year-old British boxer his first loss and take the vacant IBF heavyweight world title on Saturday. Itauma’s corner threw in the towel…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "BBC Sport",
        "title": "Hrgovic taunts starting to wind me up - Itauma",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/25/hrgovic-taunts-starting-to-wind-me-up-itauma",
        "published": "2026-08-25T22:59:47.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "One word could haunt Filip Hrgovic after Moses Itauma taunts",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/28/one-word-could-haunt-filip-hrgovic-after-moses-itauma-taunts",
        "published": "2026-08-28T06:32:29.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Winnipeg Free Press",
        "title": "Filip Hrgovic defeats Moses Itauma in London to become first Croatian heavyweight boxing champion",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/29/filip-hrgovic-defeats-moses-itauma-in-london-to-become-first-croatian",
        "published": "2026-08-29T23:00:56.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}