Filip Hrgovic almost retired before scoring stunning upset win over Moses Itauma

Filip Hrgovic was on the brink of retirement two years ago; now he is a world champion.

In 2024, the big Croatian had been on a collision course for world honours until his momentum was halted in its tracks by Daniel Dubois.

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A then-unbeaten Hrgovic was stopped on cuts in the eighth round of a gruelling contest in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and had considered hanging up his gloves in the immediate aftermath.

He may have walked away from the sport for good as well, were it not for the birth of his daughter.

Spurred on by a burning desire to make her proud, Hrgovic opted to give boxing another try, and on Saturday night it paid off when the Olympic bronze medallist halted an exhausted Moses Itauma to claim the vacant IBF belt.

“I made a lot of money in these fights, I had a lot of money in my account, and I was devastated,” Hrgovic told assembled media at the post-fight press conference.

“I was 18 years into my career at that point, and I had given all my life to boxing.

“I was already fed up with boxing at that time. I didn’t have a life outside of boxing.

“So I was thinking maybe it was time to retire and to enjoy [life].

“But my daughter was born, and I said I must [continue].

“The whole world and my own country were laughing at me because I looked like s*** in that fight.

“I was ill before the fight; I was cut in the first round. I just wasn’t myself.

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“I wanted to quit, but when my daughter was born, I wanted to try one more time to make her proud.

“I couldn’t see her having a father who was a loser. I did it for her to make her proud.”

Itauma was way ahead on all three judges’ scorecards heading into the fateful ninth round, where his gas tank drained and Hrgovic rebounded to blow him away.

Having found himself in the exact same position as Itauma not long ago, Hrgovic urged the precocious talent to keep trudging on.

“My advice to him right now is to, of course, not give up,” Hrgovic added. “And to not lose his confidence.

“Now he needs to get a few easy fights and easy wins, to build again and to learn from these mistakes.

“You can’t box like an amateur; it’s a 12-round fight, man.

“You need to pace yourself. You need to be ready in every moment. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”

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