Heavyweight Alen Babic was asked to give his thoughts on Filip Hrgovic vs Moses Itauma.
Babic and Hrgovic’s names have been paired for years, and the 35-year-old is still keen on an all-Croatian showdown after the Itauma fight.
Itauma is set to take his toughest test to date on August 29 against the Croatian as he looks to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion after Mike Tyson.
He has a tough test in ‘El Animal’, who has lost just once to date – to Daniel Dubois in 2024.
Despite Hrgovic’s impressive résumé, he is a heavy underdog for the pair’s clash at the end of the month, with many favouring the 21-year-old to score a 12th career stoppage.
Babic spoke to Boxing News and saw the bout differently. He compared Hrgovic and Itauma’s arsenals going into the fight.
“I think Hrgovic is the better fighter but if Moses is really as special as people think he will knock him out early.
“I think Hrgovic is better, he’s bigger, he throws more punches and he throws harder punches than Moses so I really give him an edge.”
Itauma, in many people’s eyes, is a champion in waiting. He has been praised since well before he turned professional in 2023 against Marcel Bode.
He has sparred with some of the heavyweight division’s biggest names, from Tyson Fury to Anthony Joshua, while Lawrence Okolie infamously recalled sparring him when Itauma was just a 15-year-old boy.
Babic was asked for his thoughts on the hype around Itauma and admitted he started to believe it last August.
“If he really is the new [Mike] Tyson I don’t think he [Hrgovic] can do much.
“If Moses is as good as people think he is then Filip doesn’t stand a chance.
“He struck him out like lightning (Whyte).”
It was the first-round win over Dillian Whyte that turned ‘The Savage’ into a believer.
He credited Itauma for taking the Hrgovic fight, insisting the Croatian represents a tougher route than many of the other options available to him.
“I think it is a terrible matchup for Moses who could’ve taken an easier way, this is the hardest way [to win a world title].”
Hrgovic and Itauma battle it out for the vacant IBF world title after Frank Sanchez was paid step-aside money.
