Itauma to challenge Hrgovic for vacant IBF heavyweight title as Mayer meets Cameron in light-middleweight unification

On Saturday, Moses Itauma will challenge Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title at London’s O2 Arena, while Mikaela Mayer and Chantelle Cameron clash in a three-belt light-middleweight unification at the BP Pulse Arena in Birmingham.

Itauma, 21, arrives with a 14-0 record including 12 knockouts and has been billed as one of boxing’s brightest young talents; Hrgovic, 34, is 20-1 with his only defeat coming against Daniel Dubois. Mayer holds the WBA and WBC light-middleweight titles and Cameron owns the WBO belt; both aim to hold three of the four major belts in the division. Live text commentary of both cards will begin at 19:30 BST on the BBC Sport website and app, and Itauma and Hrgovic are not expected to make their walk to the ring before 22:00 BST.

Itauma’s development was noted early after he sparred seasoned professionals while still at school and later joined Queensberry under Frank Warren. His two most prominent victories are a first-round stoppage of Dillian Whyte in August 2025 and a fifth-round knockout of Jermaine Franklin in March. Victory over Hrgovic would make Itauma the second-youngest heavyweight world champion in history, behind Mike Tyson, according to the report.

The IBF title on the line became vacant after Oleksandr Usyk vacated his heavyweight belts; the organisation initially ordered Itauma to face Frank Sanchez, but Sanchez has accepted a step-aside deal that guarantees him a shot at the winner. Hrgovic is an Olympic bronze medallist with extensive top-level experience, and the report notes that if Itauma can get past Hrgovic and then Sanchez, an all-British unification with either Daniel Dubois or Fabio Wardley could be possible next year.

Cameron, 22-1 (8 KOs), returns after becoming a two-weight world champion by defeating Michaela Kotaskova for the vacant WBO light-middleweight title in April; she previously beat Katie Taylor by majority decision in Dublin in May 2023 and lost the rematch five months later. Mayer is 22-2 (5 KOs), is a three-division world champion and is fighting for the first time under Most Valuable Promotions. The winner of Mayer v Cameron will hold three of the four major belts in the division, with Oshae Jones currently holding the IBF title.

The Birmingham card features a strong female undercard, headlined by unified lightweight champion Caroline Dubois defending her WBC and WBO titles against Amelia Moore; Dubois is 13-0-1 (5 KOs) and Moore is 4-0 (1 KO). Former three-weight world champion Terri Harper is also on the bill, with the report promising round-by-round updates of Dubois v Moore and Mayer v Cameron and noting that ringwalk times for the Birmingham bouts are still to be confirmed.

The published schedule information lists the following fights for the weekend: Moses Itauma v Filip Hrgovic for the vacant IBF heavyweight world title; Sam Noakes v Denys Berinchyk (lightweight); Constantin Ursu v Ben Vaughan for the British & Commonwealth welterweight title; Aloys Junior v Mike Perez (cruiserweight); Mikaela Mayer (c) v Chantelle Cameron (c) for the WBA, WBC & WBO light-middleweight world titles; Caroline Dubois v Amelia Moore for the WBC & WBO lightweight world titles; Reina Tellez v Jessica Barry (featherweight); Terri Harper v Miranda Reyes (light-welterweight); and Tysie Gallagher v Ashleigh Johnson (super-bantamweight).

Timing details published with the preview are: Thursday – news conference from 13:00; Friday – weigh-in from 16:30; Saturday - ringwalks expected at 22:00 (all times are approximate and in BST). A secondary listing in the same report reads: Thursday – news conference from 15:00; Friday – weigh-in from 15:00 (all times are approximate and in BST).

Frank Sanchez has accepted a step-aside deal that guarantees him a shot at the winner of Itauma v Hrgovic, and round-by-round coverage of the Birmingham undercard bouts and the Mayer v Cameron unification will be provided through the BBC Sport live text and the 5 Live Boxing podcast.