Well, that didn’t go according to plan.
Heavyweight super prospect Moses Itauma suffered the first loss of his professional boxing career this past weekend (Sat., Aug. 29, 2026), falling to Filip Hrgovic in a massive upset defeat in the main event of Natural Born Thriller via ninth-round technical knockout inside The O2 Arena in London, England.
Itauma entered the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Heavyweight title fight as an overwhelming betting favorite and appeared to be cruising toward
championship gold. The 21-year-old dropped Hrgovic in the second round and was ahead 80-71, 80-71 and 79-72 on the official scorecards after eight rounds.
Unfortunately, Itauma emptied his gas tank trying to finish the incredibly durable Croatian.
Hrgovic recognized that Itauma was exhausted and poured on the pressure in Round 9. Itauma could barely remain upright as he stumbled around the ring, forcing his corner to throw in the towel at the 2:27 mark (watch highlights).
Itauma was given oxygen and removed from the ring on a stretcher before being transported to a local hospital. Queensberry Promotions later confirmed that he was released Saturday night after being examined and was recovering at home.
One day after the stunning defeat, Itauma broke his silence in a video posted on social media.
“So yesterday wasn’t my night; we attempted greatness and just fell short to the more experienced man,” Itauma said on social media. “I want to say congratulations to Filip Hrgovic on his win. And although I never reached my desired outcome, I believe I gained experience that I’ll take to my future fights. I want to thank the fans in and outside of the arena; you guys made it a little bit more special. It was a f—king great fight. God bless, take care, and I’ll be back.”
The defeat dropped Itauma’s professional record to 14-1 with 12 knockouts. Meanwhile, Hrgovic improved to 21-1 with 16 knockouts and became the first Croatian to capture a Heavyweight world championship.
At just 21 years old, Itauma still has plenty of time to regroup. However, the devastating upset exposed serious questions about his conditioning and whether his team pushed him into a world title fight before he was ready.
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