Unimpressed Filip Hrgovic and the tree-kissing rituals of Moses Itauma

Perennial heavyweight contender Filip Hrgovic has been outspoken about the different roads trodden by both him and Moses Itauma ahead of their fight on Saturday.

The 34-year-old Croat has had to come back and rebuild from defeat and, having fought to the top from Croatia, having boxed in the World Series of Boxing, and having claimed an Olympic bronze medal, he thinks his path has been far more hazardous than that of his 21-year-old opponent.

But he is taking Itauma very seriously.

Hrgovic has been training in Big Bear, with Abel Sanchez, and he has embraced the old school nature of camp.

“It will be a lot of pain, man. A lot of sacrifice for this camp. I’ll have a 10-week camp.


“It's at altitude. And Abel Sanchez is a real old school guy,” Hrgovic said before he jetted off to prepare. “I think he's really brutal. His training regimen. And he's really old school. He doesn't believe in this modern bullshit recovery, physiotherapy, vitamins.

‘You must drink water. You must do this. You must do yoga.’

“He’s just old school. Just hard work and a lot of pain in his camps. A lot of isolation. Just a lot of hard work. I went to him and he gave me back that... Reminded me [of the] simplicity of boxing. [He said] Work hard and shut the fuck up. Don't be smart.

Don't try to be a doctor. If you were smart, you would be a lawyer. Or you would be a journalist. Or you would be a doctor. You're not smart. You would be a manager.

“You’re not smart. You're here to work. To kill this guy.



“And shut the fuck up. Run every day. Wake up at 6am. Don't drink vitamins. And that's it. Simplicity.



“In one way it’s simple. But in another way it's not so simple. Then you come to the point where you need to speak with yourself.


“When you go through all that pain. And then where is the win happening? In yourself.

“You meet yourself. And that's the point of that hard training camp. And I believe that I will have a lot of sacrifice in this camp. And it will show on August 29th.”



It is Hrgovic’s old school attitude that has caused him to bristle at the progress of the 21-year-old prodigy he will face on Saturday. In just 14 fights, Itauma has raced into heady spots with all sanctioning bodies.



“I believe everything that you want to achieve, it must be hard,” said Hrgovic.



“I only know that way – hard. I don’t know easy way. I just know the way of fighting back and fighting. And Moses. I saw him now. He has like two litres of water. Probably a nutritionist told him like you need to drink this morning two litres of water. Blah, blah, blah. He's like new school. Like modern fighter. Lifting weights. Drinking water. Probably in the morning he [says] hello to the sun. “Breathe 10 times in and out. Then drink water. Then shower with cold water. Then go kiss the tree. He’s, you know, bullshit. And I’m the real deal.” 



Only once in his professional career has Hrgovic been found wanting, and that was when he faced Daniel Dubois in Saudi Arabia. Having handled Dubois in sparring years earlier, Hrgovic had bragged about a repeat performance. Instead, Dubois stood up to Hrgovic, got on top and forced a cuts stoppage.
While Hrgovic gives Dubois some credit, he said the build-up was not a good one for him.



“I mean, I'll get over that,” he said of the June 2024 loss. “But it was hard for me. I needed like one year to recover. It was a big shock for me. Because I didn’t box well because of the different circumstances. I was injured and ill and just not focused. I underestimated him and I wasn’t just boxing well. And I was cut since round one. So what could happen, bad, it happened.



“Injury, illness, distractions. So yeah, I would like to have a rematch with him. Hopefully. It's in contract [if Itauma is beaten].”



Before Itauma-Hrgovic was upgraded to a fight for the vacant IBF title on Saturday, Hrgovic hoped the youngster’s scalp would lead him to a rematch with Dubois, who now holds the WBO title. 



And Hrgovic is of no doubt that, with the turmoil of what was going on behind the scenes before he fought Dubois the first time, that he couldn’t beat the Englishman if they boxed again.



“That's why I think I can beat him. Because with illness, with injury, sparring, with a lot of shit going on, I was winning the fight. And that’s why I believe, healthy and without injuries, I definitely can beat him. But now it's a big test in front of me. So I must take care of Itauma. Stylistically, it’s a harder fight because he’s quicker and southpaw. Dubois has much more achievements. He’s two-time world champion. But stylistically, Itauma is a trickier fighter.”



Was he surprised with how much punishment Dubois could withstand?



“It was like sitting in a boat and throwing rocks in the sea,” he said, when it was put to him that he hit Dubois with everything. “You can’t miss the sea on the boat. Yeah, I caught him with so many punches, but I didn’t feel good. I tell you, I swear. One week before the fight, I was in my bed. I called the lady for flights. I asked her, ‘Can we move this flight for a few days?’ I was in bed one week before. I asked her, ‘Can we move the flight?’ She said, ‘No, it’s already booked. You must fly.’


“I was sick. Then I was a little bit recovered that fight week. I was drinking like 10 medications in a day. Every day just to get a little bit of energy. I didn't feel good. After six rounds, I was dead. Not because of his punches, but I was just without conditioning. Also, I had two huge cuts. It was destiny. Now, I’m sorry, but I will need to beat your guy [Itauma]. Your next big hope. That’s the next big thing.”


Itauma will be the fifth UK fighter in a row Hrgovic has faced, having also defeated Joe Joyce, David Adeleye and Dave Allen. And while many believe Itauma could be the next big thing in the heavyweight division, Hrgovic is in no rush to agree.



“He’s done well,” said the visitor. “But I'm not so impressed because, for example, I was also a youth world champion like him. Then I went to WSB, to elite level. No one cared. I feel like he got everything on the plate. Youth world champion, boom.

Queensberry contract, building him, making him in 14 fights a big star.

“I think when you’re a Great Britain fighter, it’s much easier. You have everything. You got a great coach, good manager, good promoter. You have everything. I was youth world champion. No one cared. I think it’s a big difference if you come from a small country. If you come from Great Britain, you got everything on the plate. So I’m not impressed. I’m impressed with my path more than him.

“Because you need a lot of toughness to endure what I endure. And to go this way alone, without brother, without father, without anyone in family. I need to do everything by myself. Without any knowledge about boxing in your country, without any tradition. You can’t ask anyone [in Croatia] anything about business, about sport. There's not a lot of general knowledge of boxing. So I needed to do everything by myself… So why would I be impressed with Moses Itauma when I have 10 times harder path? And, you know, I'm not impressed, man. I’m not impressed with him.”