Hrgovic survives Itauma's fast start and wins in round nine
Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma in the ninth round at The O2 in London on 29 August 2026 to win the vacant IBF heavyweight title. The victory made Hrgovic Croatia's first world heavyweight champion.
Itauma controlled the early part of the fight and dropped Hrgovic in the second round. His speed and combinations kept the Croatian under pressure, but the pace became harder to sustain as the contest moved beyond six rounds for the first time in Itauma's professional career.
Hrgovic remained in the fight, began to land more heavily as Itauma tired and forced the stoppage in round nine. The referee intervened as Itauma's corner also threw in the towel. Sky Sports' fight report and The Guardian's ringside report both record the late stoppage after Itauma had led through the earlier rounds.
The result settled the vacant IBF championship, but it did not settle every ranking question around either boxer.
What changed in the IBF heavyweight rankings
Prior to the fight, the latest official IBF rankings for the heavyweight division had Moses Itauma at number three and Filip Hrgovic at number four.
One result now requires five ranking decisions
Itauma entered the fight with a high position across all five lists tracked by Box-Rank. The latest loaded rankings place him:
- Number one with the WBA in July 2026
- Number one with the WBO in July 2026
- Number three with the IBF in July 2026
- Number three with the WBC in August 2026
- Number six with Ring in August 2026
Those positions do not all change automatically or at the same time. Each organisation publishes its own list and can respond differently to the first defeat of Itauma's professional career. One body may move him down several places. Another may keep him near the top because of the level of the fight and his strong opening rounds. Ring makes an editorial decision, while the four sanctioning bodies also have mandatory and title-eliminator considerations.
The next updates will therefore show more than whether Itauma falls. They will show how five organisations value the same defeat. His Box-Rank profile provides the clearest place to compare those decisions as each new list is published.
Hrgovic's position is also different on every list
Winning the IBF title removes the biggest uncertainty around Hrgovic, but it does not make him the recognised champion everywhere. Before the other organisations publish their next response, the latest rankings place him at number three with the WBO, number four with the WBC, number five with Ring and number seven with the WBA. The combined heavyweight rankings put those lists alongside each other so the differences remain visible.
Hrgovic has said that he wants a unification fight. Sky Sports reports that Frank Sanchez is the IBF mandatory challenger, while Hrgovic named WBO champion Daniel Dubois and WBC champion Agit Kabayel as preferred opponents. A mandatory defence and a unification are different routes, so the next development may come through an IBF order rather than a monthly ranking change.
What the result means for Itauma
The defeat ends Itauma's unbeaten record, but it does not erase the reason he was ranked so highly. He controlled much of a world-title fight against an experienced heavyweight and showed why every major list had him inside its top six. The unanswered question was endurance over a longer contest, and Hrgovic forced that question into the open.
Box-Rank will not guess where Itauma should now be placed. His existing positions remain evidence of what each organisation published before the fight. New positions will be recorded when the WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and Ring issue their updates.
This is an important difference between a result and a ranking. The result is final. Its effect on five independent lists is still developing.
What to watch in the next IBF release
The next IBF heavyweight rankings should answer four immediate questions:
- Hrgovic should move from the numbered contender field into the champion position.
- The vacant championship label should disappear.
- The IBF must decide whether Itauma remains at number three after the loss.
- The contender order below them may change once Hrgovic's former number-four place is removed.
Until those rankings are published, use the live IBF heavyweight table for the current champion and the Box-Rank archive for the monthly record. The IBF organisation page shows the latest month available across every division. For an explanation of why title results and monthly lists can move on different schedules, read how boxing rankings work.
Hrgovic versus Itauma changed one belt immediately. The more revealing part comes next, when five ranking publishers show how they interpret the same night.