Moses Itauma brushes off 'school' jibes as he aims to be youngest heavyweight champ since Mike Tyson

Facing an opponent who has pledged to “smash the kid” and “send him back to high school,” Moses Itauma is looking more mature than his 21 years.

The undefeated British heavyweight (14-0) is aiming to become the second-youngest heavyweight champion in history when he takes on Filip Hrgovic (21-1) for the IBF title in London on Saturday.

If Itauma can beat Hrgovic, he'd become the youngest heavyweight champion since a 20-year-old Mike Tyson stopped Trevor Berbick in 1986.

Hrgovic, a 34-year-old Croatian, has focused on Itauma's age in the buildup.

At times, he's claimed to be concerned Itauma is too young to handle the money and fame that comes with being a champion. There's been plenty of mockery, too.

“I think he is a kid, he is not mature enough and I think I am the man. I am a much better age, much more experience and yeah, that is it. No mind games," he said Thursday. “God willing, you know I will beat him, I’ll smash the kid on Saturday and send him back to high school.”

Itauma has brushed it all off.

“At the end of the day talk is cheap. He has just got schoolboy banter and that’s it. You’ve got to keep rolling,” he said.

Itauma added he just wants to beat Hrgovic and the title and record are just a “plus one”.

Itauma made his pro debut a month after his 18th birthday and hasn't looked back since.

Itauma racked up six wins in the space of nine months to start his pro career. The southpaw then made a big statement knocking out former contender Dillian Whyte in the first round last year. A crunching knockout of Jermaine Franklin in March brought more buzz. His resume also includes a win over Mike Balogun, a former Buffalo Bills linebacker turned pro boxer.

It's all a long way from the small town in Slovakia where Itauma was born to a Nigerian father and Slovakian mother. Itauma has described moving to England with his family as a child after encountering racist abuse. His brother Karol was a top light-heavyweight prospect but had to retire after a heart attack.

Hrgovic's rise has been more measured, with notable wins over Zhang Zhilei and Joe Joyce, but also a big setback in a 2024 loss to Daniel Dubois, who's now the WBO champion. Hrgovic was bleeding from deep cuts above his eyes when the ringside doctor recommended the fight be stopped.

Itauma’s fight with Hrgovic wasn't meant to be for a major title.

When it was scheduled in June, it was a way to narrow down the contenders for a potential challenge to then-IBF champ Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian's decision to vacate all his titles weeks later, as he seeks one last bout before retirement, opened up the whole heavyweight division.

Cuban fighter Frank Sanchez was also in the IBF title picture. He has said he agreed to a deal to allow Itauma vs. Hrgovic to go ahead and will fight the winner.

The WBC recognized Agit Kabayel as champion, the first German in over 90 years with a major men's heavyweight belt, while Dubois has the WBO belt he won in an all-British fight with Fabio Wardley in May.

Murat Gassiev was upgraded to Usyk’s old WBA “super” title and defended it against Peter Kadiru in Moscow in July after his original opponent, Tony Yoka, was injured.

All these new champions could be overshadowed by two veterans as long-running talks grind on for a blockbuster fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury, without a major title at stake.

See AP’s full sports coverage here

Boxers Filip Hrgovic, right, and Moses Itauma pose following a press conference, Thursday Aug. 27, 2026, in London, ahead of the IBF heavyweight championship bout. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

BUNIA, Congo (AP) — The fastest-growing Ebola outbreak in history has spread to two new health zones in eastern Congo, with a total of 60 now affected, according to the latest government figures published on Friday.

The two new zones affected are Biena and Manguredjipa in Congo’s North Kivu province, where the case fatality rate is much higher than the overall rate of 48%, due in part to delayed response efforts, according to Congo’s Ministry of Health data.

It said the outbreak has recorded 5,794 confirmed cases, including 2,786 deaths, as it is spreading at an unprecedented speed, faster than efforts to track and slow it.

The outbreak is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers’ strike and intense population movements. The World Health Organization has said that it remains out of control and is on track to surpass the 2014-2016 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the deadliest on record, which killed more than 11,000 people, primarily in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

On Thursday, Congo began vaccinating health workers and other front-line workers with the Ervebo vaccine that was effective in past Ebola outbreaks caused by a different, more common type called Zaire.

Clinical trials are on the way find a licensed vaccine for the rare Bundibugyo virus that is causing the current outbreak and which has no approved vaccines or treatments.

Although the current outbreak was declared in mid-May, officials believe it had been spreading since February. It has spread from three health zones to nearly 60, with most cases and deaths occurring outside the network of monitored contacts and within communities.

Efforts to bring the outbreak under control — from limited public gatherings to social distancing and airport closures — have disrupted life in the six affected provinces, particularly Ituri, which has been ravaged by rebel violence.

The government has introduced measures, including installing health and sanitary equipment at some locations, but advocacy groups say more needs to be done to build trust within the community.

Congo’s Health Minister Roger Kamba administers an Ebola vaccine to a health care worker in Kisangani, Congo, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2026. (AP Photo/Samy Kamanga)