Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic undercard taking shape with new heavyweight clash in the works

The Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic undercard is expected to feature Queensberry’s newest heavyweight signing, Guido Vianello.

Vianello, an Italian Olympian and 14-3-1 pro, inked a deal with the British promoter on Thursday after eight years under the Top Rank banner.

Getty

The 32-year-old hasn’t set foot in the ring since his fifth-round stoppage victory over Canada’s Alexis Barriere last October.

According to esteemed boxing journalist Dan Rafael, Queensberry are keen to get Vianello out quickly and are actively seeking to make a bout with Britain’s David Adeleye on Itauma’s August 29 bill in London.

Adeleye (14-2) is a former British heavyweight champion, who controversially won the belt by knocking out Jeamie TKV with a shot that landed after the referee had called break.

The British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) ordered an immediate rematch, but Adeleye chose instead to step up in class against Hrgovic last August.

Adeleye put on a spirited display and had pockets of success.

Particularly, at the end of the eighth round when he caught Hrgovic with 14 consecutive unanswered blows.

But in the end, it proved to be a step too far as Adeleye fell to a lopsided unanimous decision defeat.

Vianello serves as the perfect opponent for Adeleye to rebound against, as both men find themselves at similar points in their respective careers.

While Vianello holds a decent win over heavy-handed Russian Arslanbek Makhmudov, he has come up short against Efe Ajagba and Richard Torrez Jr on points.

Whoever emerges victorious will put themselves in the shop window for bigger fights, while the loser will take a tumble down the heavyweight mountain.

Getty

Vianello’s bad luck

Vianello will be hopeful the deal can get over the line after already seeing one fight fall by the wayside this year.

‘The Gladiator’ had been in negotiations to face Martin Bakole at the foot of the Pyramids of Giza on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven undercard in May.

Vianello claims he signed his side of the deal, but that Bakole pulled out amid an ongoing promotional dispute with BOXXER.

“One week off after the Alexis [Barriere] fight and I was back in the gym,” Vianello told Ring Magazine.

“I’ve been training for six months, was ready to fight Bakole on the Usyk undercard, but he pulled out, and I’m very upset about this…

“There are many top-level heavyweights, just give me a fight.

“I don’t care about money, management or other things, [I] just want to fight.”

Watch Boxing on DAZN

*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue

Sign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.

Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.

Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.

Click here to sign up.