Keys to Victory: Where will Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic land the major damage?

Through 14 professional bouts, Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) has fought in just 31 rounds, making short work of Jermaine Franklin Jr. via a dazzling fifth-round TKO in March. He made it clear during Thursday’s press conference that he’s laser focused on defeating Hrgovic and nothing else. Meanwhile, Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) will be looking to pull off the upset to become the first-ever heavyweight world champion from Croatia. ‘El Animal’ believes he’s in the best shape of his life at 34 and is coming off a third-round TKO win over David Allen in May.

Will London see the coronation of its next king in Itauma? Or will Hrgovic defy all odds to generate the grand upset? With the stakes ultra high, DAZN News unpacks the Keys to Victory for both heavyweights.

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'This is the biggest fight of my life' 

Hrgovic prepares to 'destroy' Moses in world title fight

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Moses Itauma’s Keys to Victory

Assert hand speed

The quickest way for Moses Itauma to demoralize Filip Hrgovic early is to assert his sizeable advantage in hand speed. Even with his vaunted volume, Hrgovic will be hard-pressed to keep up with the fast-twitch quickness of Itauma's punches. A few shots landing flush during early rounds and Itauma will make the disparity glaring.

Set traps

Watch Itauma work and the 21-year-old Brit does an excellent job of utilizing feints and subtle footwork to set traps. It’s regular practice for Itauma to twitch the jab, bait opponents, absorb contact and blast away with precise, piercing blows. Against a 6-foot-6 Hrgovic, who stands upright and stationary stiff during stretches, Itauma might not even need to set as many traps. The ones he does set, however, should enjoy paydirt.

Unleash the left hook

Hrgovic has a penchant of keeping his rear hand chest level. It led to him eating unnecessary left hooks from David Adeleye in their August 2025 fight. Itauma has quicker hands than Adeleye and more clinical. So, just imagine what Itauma can do if he spots this vulnerability within Hrgovic’s guard or lack thereof.

A raucous left hook might just be the shot to crown him the second-youngest heavyweight world champion of all time.

Filip Hrgovic’s Keys to Victory

Mount pressure behind the jab

Filip Hrgovic owns a three-inch reach advantage and asserting his range with the jab might give him his best chance to build some pressure behind it. Moses Itauma has shown he is crafty working his way inside, but Hrgovic should at least try to discover early whether he can make the Brit respect his power jab.

Produce a high output

Hrgovic is known for delivering a high output of punches. This smothering action might be his best bet against Itauma, especially if he could stand his ground against the younger fighter’s speed and movement. While cranking the volume up, Hrgovic must make sure he doesn’t get too erratic, which brings us to our next point.

Stay disciplined

Far too often, Hrgovic is willing to wildly engage in exchanges. The problem is he isn’t exactly keeping his head off the center line in the midst of these trades. What’s worse is that aforementioned habit of dropping his right hand to his chest. He does either and Itauma will surgically and explosively carve him up.

Throughout this promotion, Hrgovic has affirmed that he is not intimidated by Itauma. During Friday’s weigh-in, he even responded to Itauma pushing him off the stage by slapping the young lion. As a veteran heavyweight who has fought quality heavyweights such as Daniel Dubois, the current WBO titleholder representing the lone loss on the Croatian’s ledger, and Olympian Zhilei Zhang, Hrgovic shouldn’t be intimidated by Itauma. That said, the Croatian fighter would do himself a good service of his own wellbeing by staying disciplined.

Who has the edge in Itauma vs. Hrgovic?

Analysis: DAZN News’ Mark Lelinwalla

The eye test doesn’t lie — it’s Moses Itauma’s time. Although he’s a solid heavyweight, Filip Hrgovic keeping his head on the center line and dropping that rear hand are tailor made vulnerabilities for an explosive left-hook knockout and coronation of a 21-year-old heavyweight world champion from the United Kingdom. That's what I fully expect.

Moses vs. Hrgovic - exclusively on DAZN PPV

Watch Moses Itauma attempt to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night, only on DAZN.

Buy as a one-off PPV or included along with Garcia vs. Benn (Sept 12, UK only) and Canelo vs. Mbilli (Oct 31) PPVs with a DAZN Ultimate Tier subscription.

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