Moses Itauma has been given a direct route to the IBF heavyweight title, raising questions over whether his scheduled fight with Filip Hrgovic still makes sense.
The IBF confirmed that it received official notice on June 26 that Oleksandr Usyk had vacated the heavyweight title. The governing body has now ordered No. 1-ranked Frank Sanchez to negotiate with No. 3 contender Itauma for the vacant belt.
Both sides have until July 29 to reach an agreement, giving Itauma an immediate world title opportunity.
That changes the situation around his August 29 fight with Hrgovic at The O2 in London. When the bout was announced, it looked like the perfect step up and a possible route toward a future title shot. Now, the title shot has already arrived.
Hrgovic remains one of the most dangerous heavyweights in the division. His only defeat came against Daniel Dubois, and he has since rebuilt with wins over Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen.
Watch Hrgovic vs. Allen highlights: Watch
That makes the Hrgovic fight a major risk if Itauma can instead move directly into a vacant IBF title fight with Sanchez. One possible solution would be to replace Hrgovic with Sanchez on August 29, with Hrgovic receiving a future shot at the winner.
There is also history at stake. Itauma can no longer break Mike Tyson’s record as the youngest heavyweight champion, but if he wins the IBF title before October, he could become the second-youngest heavyweight champion in history, moving ahead of Floyd Patterson.
Queensberry matched Itauma with Hrgovic because it looked like the fastest route to a world title. The IBF has now handed him an even faster one. Passing up that chance for another dangerous fight would be difficult to justify.
Image Credit: Sky Sports