Moses Itauma is set to continue his pursuit of the heavyweight world title when he headlines the O2 Arena in August. Now, an opponent is close to being confirmed in a fight that promoter Frank Warren believes the youngster faces a ‘massive test’. 

Itauma has breezed through the opposition in all 14 of his professional bouts to date and is well placed for a world title challenge at just 21 years old, positioned as the WBO mandatory challenger and ranked number one with the WBA.

Following his latest win against Jermaine Franklin Jr in March, Itauma announced that he would have liked to face Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic next, seemingly disappointed that the Rio 2016 bronze medallist was scheduled to take on Dave Allen instead.

However, after stopping Allen with ease on Saturday inside just three rounds, Hrgovic shared his willingness for a quick turnaround and a clash with Itauma. Speaking to talkSPORT Boxing, Warren confirmed his interest in that proposed contest.

“I would like to see that fight [between Itauma and Hrgovic] happen. There is negotiations going on and I would love to see that fight happen, it is a massive test for Moses and a massive fight.

“That has got fight written all over it, hasn’t it? It’d be an exciting fight, if we can make it happen.”

The comments echo those of Warren’s son, George, who said after the Allen fight that his immediate goal is to get the bout signed.

Itauma will headline the O2 Arena in London on Saturday, August 8, in what will be his second main event slot, as he looks to continue to build his profile. If the Hrgovic fight makes it over the line, assuming the cut suffered by the Croatian against Allen is healed in time, it will indeed be the most significant step up in Itauma’s career so far.

Joel Bagan has signed a new four-year contract to stay at League One promotion winners Cardiff City.

The Bluebirds academy graduate played a key role as Brian Barry-Murphy’s side returned to the Championship at the first attempt in 2025-26.

The 24-year-old full-back was one of a trio of senior players whose deals were set to expire this summer.

But Bagan is now tied to Cardiff until 2030.

“I’m delighted to be extending my stay at this club. I’ve been here since I was 16 and it feels like home,” said Bagan.

John Cena appeared at Backlash 2026 to make the announcement about the John Cena Classic. He only offered preliminary details about the tournament, and has now opened up about the way it came together.

The 17-time world champion recently spoke to Zack Heydorn of Sports Illustrated and revealed that it was a pitch he made that was eventually developed in coordination with the higher-ups in the company. Cena also revealed that the retirement tour was also his idea, which was pitched to Triple H and Nick Khan.

“Keep in mind, I approached them about the retirement tour. That was my idea. And so was the John Cena Classic. Now, the retirement tour took a year and a half for me to develop. It took a year and a half after I pitched and they accepted it for the WWE to curate and develop. That was a very long lead. The John Cena Classic took took four or five months for me to get a a proper situation where I could talk to Triple H and Nick Khan. And they digested the information. We’ve been working out the details for about two months now. And we’re we’re going forward. We’re going to give it a shot,” he said.

Advertisement

John Cena reveals the reason he retired from WWE

The Never Seen 17 bid an emotional farewell to his in-ring career at Saturday Night’s Main Event last year, losing to Gunther in his last match. In the same conversation, he revealed why he chose to retire:

“This new crop of extra talented superstars come up that are performing at a speed like the game just looks too fast for me… because it is. You’re right. I could change my style, but at the risk of ruining that energy that WWE invested in me. And that’s tough because from an ego standpoint, you got to step away from the audience. I love the audience. It’s great. But man, that’s not respectful to the fans and it’s not respectful to the company. It’s also not respectful to new talent trying to get an opportunity. Step aside. Let the young superstars come up.”

The John Cena Classic is in line with the legend’s vision of bringing forth new talent and leaving the business better than he found it, and it now remains to be seen how the tournament shapes up.

If you use the quotes from this article, please give an H/T to Sportskeeda for the transcription and credit Sports Illustrated.