Moses Itauma’s August 29 fight with Filip Hrgovic at The O2 in London will now be contested for the vacant IBF heavyweight title, Queensberry Promotions confirmed Tuesday. The bout headlines a card streaming live on DAZN pay-per-view.

The belt has been unclaimed since Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBC, WBA and IBF titles on June 26. The WBC elevated interim champion Agit Kabayel and the WBA elevated Murat Gassiev to full champion. The IBF was the last of the three still open.

Resolving it required removing Frank Sanchez from the equation. The sanctioning body had ordered Sanchez (26-1, 19 KOs), its No. 1 contender, to negotiate with Itauma for the vacant championship, setting a July 29 deadline before purse bids. Itauma was already signed to face Hrgovic, and IBF rules bar fighters from taking intervening bouts once a title fight has been ordered. Promoter Frank Warren told BBC Sport that Queensberry paid the Cuban to stand down.

“We paid [Sanchez] some money,” Warren said. “We said whoever wins the fight, you’re not losing out and you’ll get the opportunity to fight for the title against the winner.”

With Sanchez removed, Itauma and Hrgovic became the two highest-ranked available IBF contenders, which cleared the way for the belt to be placed on the fight. The IBF confirmed to Uncrowned that the winner must face Sanchez within six months, with no intervening bouts permitted.

Sanchez’s manager, Mike Borao, laid out the terms in comments to Sky Sports.

“Frank Sanchez has allowed Itauma and Hrgovic to fight for the vacant IBF title on August 29 under the condition, as mandatory #1 contender, he fights the winner with no intervening bouts,” Borao said.

“Frank didn’t want to fight until the end of the year in order to prepare properly, so the timeline works perfectly for him, especially considering the Itauma vs Hrgovic fight is less than 30 days away.

“The deal we negotiated for Frank to fight the winner is lucrative financially, he maintains his mandatory status, and is only deferring his opportunity a few months.

“The agreement was relatively easy to make with Queensberry and Warriors Boxing, although at times it looked like a deal would fail to materialize.

“I’ve known George Warren a long time. He understands the heavyweight division, is a gentleman and pleasure to work with. The final deal is good for the participating boxers, promoters, the IBF, and the fans. I am glad it got over the finish line.

“Frank is anxious to fight Ituama or Hrgovic, he doesn’t care who it is, and wishes the best of luck to both. He feels he will beat either and become heavyweight champion this year, the target date being December.”

Warren, who signed Itauma at 16, framed the upgrade as the moment the promotion has been building toward.

“A lot of people have high expectations of him as I have, by the way,” Warren told BBC Sport. “We signed him when he was 16. He was an amateur. We sponsored him and he turned professional with us. And he’s been amazing and sort of taken the world by storm.

“This is a big moment for him. But I’m confident he can do it.”

Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) turned 21 in December and holds the WBO Intercontinental, WBA International and Commonwealth titles. According to ESPN, a win would make him the second youngest heavyweight world champion in history behind Mike Tyson. He stopped Jermaine Franklin in the fifth round in Manchester in March and knocked out Dillian Whyte in a single round in Riyadh in August 2025. Six of his last ten fights have ended in the opening round.

Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) is 34 and won bronze at the 2016 Olympics. He has taken three straight wins over British opposition, beating Joe Joyce and David Adeleye before stopping Dave Allen in the third round at Doncaster’s Eco-Power Stadium in May. His only professional defeat came against Daniel Dubois in June 2024, when he was stopped in the eighth round of an IBF interim title fight. This will be a first world title shot for both men.

The tone between them was set at the launch press conference in London in June, where Hrgovic questioned the substance behind Itauma’s rise.

“History said that Moses never reached the promised land and history repeats,” Hrgovic said, in comments reported by Bad Left Hook. “My job is to stop him to reach the promised land to become champion, to become next star that he got all the attributes to be. He has country behind him, promotion, so since beginning of his career they’re building him into the big star. Obviously he got the talent, speed and punching power and everybody predicting he’s the next big star in boxing and I’m here to stop him.

“Of course I believe in myself. I’m too tough, too experienced guy, too strong for him.”

Hrgovic told reporters at the same event that Itauma “was given everything on the plate when I compare his path with my path and other guys who are coming from small countries,” according to BBC Sport, and questioned what the younger man has been forced to overcome.

“I’m a fighter. I look at it from a different angle. I’ve never seen him in trouble. I’ve never seen him punched, get dropped,” Hrgovic said. “He’s definitely got speed and skills but to be a great fighter you must have hard will, chin and endurance.”

Itauma did not dispute the size of the assignment.

“This is a big test. Of course, it’s my toughest fight,” Itauma said. “Filip Hrgovic ain’t no mug. I think the beautiful thing about boxing is that Hrgovic has achieved so much in this sport, has beat so many well-known guys in not just British boxing, but boxing in general, and he’s won an Olympic bronze medal.

“The beautiful thing about my position is I can strip him away from all of that.”

Asked whether the two respected each other, Itauma said: “Once that first punch lands, I’m sure he’ll respect me then.” The pair shook hands at the face-off.

Itauma returned to the criticism in later comments, telling reporters he could acknowledge Hrgovic’s route without accepting the premise.

“I’m not saying one is better than the other, but I just think we’ve lived different lives and I can appreciate his story,” Itauma said. “He’s had a tough route, but he hasn’t started from scratch. He also had an Olympic medal, which they don’t just hand out but with that Olympic medal, there came a bit of a head start. Whereas there are certain guys that would have had to start from scratch, whether that was on small hall shows, probably even unlicensed.”

Warren had described the matchup as the examination Itauma asked for when the fight was first announced in June.

“This has got all the makings of a classic heavyweight confrontation and we were determined to get it over the line,” Warren said in the Queensberry announcement. “This fight is the litmus test Moses is ready for and it is the one he wanted. Filip believes it will be too much too soon for the young star. At The O2 on August 29th we will find out on what will be another incredible night for British boxing.”

DAZN vice president Alfie Sharman said in the same release: “Fans can expect a huge night of heavyweight action on August 29th as one of the most feared men in boxing, Moses Itauma takes on elite heavyweight Filip Hrgovic in a pivotal clash with world title implications. Itauma is one of boxing’s brightest young stars, while Hrgovic brings proven world-level experience, making this blockbuster unmissable. Tune in live worldwide only on DAZN PPV.”

Warren also told BBC Sport that if Itauma beats Hrgovic and then Sanchez, a two-belt fight against WBO champion Dubois or Fabio Wardley could follow at Wembley Stadium in 2027. Dubois and Wardley are set to meet in a rematch in October after Dubois stopped Wardley in the 11th round in May.

“It would be huge, absolutely huge. They’re big punchers. These guys are big, big punchers. They’re exciting. They’re not in boring fights,” Warren said. He added that trainer Ben Davison, who works with both Itauma and Wardley, would have to “make a decision” if that fight were made.

The IBF deadline was one of two open questions in the division heading into this week, alongside the venue for Anthony Joshua against Tyson Fury, a fight London, New York and Las Vegas are still contesting.

The Queensberry undercard at The O2 includes Sam Noakes against Denys Berinchyk at lightweight, Constantin Ursu against Ben Vaughan for the British and Commonwealth welterweight titles, and cruiserweight Aloys Junior against Mike Perez.