ensions ran high at yesterday’s weigh-in ahead of the IBF World Heavyweight Championship bout, with Moses Itauma and Filip Hrgovic on the verge of a brawl before security personnel intervened. Promoter Frank Warren, who is staging the event, reacted negatively to the altercation.
During the customary face-off, the two fighters exchanged some unfriendly words. Hrgovic then turned towards the crowd, turning his back on his young opponent, who pushed him from behind. The Croatian lost his balance and was forced to step down from the stage to avoid falling. He then climbed back up and slapped Itauma in the face. The two fighters were subsequently kept apart by security.
Frank Warren reacted to the incident with the following words:
“I don’t want that. I don’t like all that stuff. Obviously, he didn’t mean to push him off the stage, that was unfortunate. These guys are hotted up, it’s a big moment for both of them in their careers.
“The tension’s been building up all week and it spilled over when they were both talking. How I read it, basically [Moses] said, ‘I’m not a kid, don’t try to old man me,’ and that happened … They’re fighting men saying what they’re saying, and it led to a moment I’d have preferred not to happen.”