Filip Hrgovic has positioned himself for an immediate title defence after causing a major upset against Moses Itauma last Saturday.
The pair squared off for the vacant IBF strap at London’s O2 Arena, with many favouring Itauma to become the youngest world heavyweight champion since Mike Tyson.
And, indeed, the 21-year-old appeared likely to do so, having scored a second-round knockdown and dominated the vast majority of their exchanges.
In a truly dramatic turn of events, however, Itauma emptied his tank in round eight before succumbing to a stoppage defeat during the following three minutes.
The heavyweight prodigy therefore suffered the first loss of his career, both amateur and professional, while Hrgovic became his country’s first-ever world heavyweight champion.
Instead of pursuing unification matches, though, the Croatian must first face mandatory challenger Frank Sanchez, who took step-aside money while Hrgovic and Itauma collided for the IBF title.
Speaking with BoxingScene, Sanchez’ advisor, Guadalupe Valencia, has confirmed that the Cuban will not be incentivised to wait in the wings for any longer.
“Frank called me during the [Itauma-Hrgovic] fight to say, ‘Lupe, I’ll fight both of these guys’. He saw that fight and knew neither of those guys can compete with him. And after the fight, he called to say, ‘You’ve gotta make that fight. I’ll fight tomorrow’.
“Now Frank is the mandatory for Hrgovic. We plan on enforcing it. We’ve already had discussions about it. It’s happening. There’s not going to be step-asides for no amount of money.”
With Sanchez coming off a second-round finish over Richard Torrez Jr in May, the 34-year-old represents a dangerous and well-schooled opponent for Hrgovic, who just defeated another southpaw in the form of Itauma.
