(LifeSiteNews) — Thirty-four-year-old Croatian boxer Filip Hrgovic became the International Boxing Federation (IBF) heavyweight champion on August 29, crediting his success to Jesus Christ from the ring after besting 21-year-old Moses Itauma of England.
Charter 97 reported that Itauma appeared to have the upper hand early in the match, opening with an aggressive offensive that “dominated” Hrgovic in the first round. However, patience won out, as by the “end of the sixth round, Hrgovic sensed his opponent’s fatigue and bombarded Itauma with punches, miraculously failing to knock him down.” Itauma began slowing down in the seventh round and finally threw in the towel in the ninth.
In the immediate post-victory interview, Hrgovic credited his win to a higher power.
“Let me tell you something,” he said. “It was not me tonight. It was Jesus Christ in me. Holy Spirit. Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. It was not me. I was losing every round. I was outboxed. And I don’t know from where I got energy in that (ninth) round. And it was really not my strength. It was Holy Spirit.”
“He gave me strength in this camp to endure everything, to have the best camp of my life. He put me in touch with this great coach, Abel Sanchez,” the boxer continued. “I was in the best shape of my life because of him. He put me in touch with my manager, Keith Connolly, who changed my life, the best manager in business. And all my team, my nephew Antonio, my chef, my physiotherapist, sparring partners – he set up everything to have a perfect camp and to have a perfect fight. So, thanks to my Lord Jesus Christ.”
A profile in the Mirror describes Hrgovic as a “deeply religious individual” and quotes him as explaining how turning to God has helped him through other trying aspects of his career as well.
“You need to do a lot of things outside of the ring that you know about logistics and everything. So, I was always, I felt lonely all the time. I was alone in that struggle, in that fight, organizing everything, and at the same time training hard to become one of the best,” so with “all the struggles, all that … I can’t explain to you what, what I went through, how lonely I was, how confused I was, how I felt in some times. But all of that struggles with God always, gave me solution. God always gave me strength and wisdom to make good moves and to endure everything, and he always take care of me, and in the end, I’m really, happy with my career.”
The match was Itauma’s first professional defeat and Hrgovic’s 22nd professional bout. He is expected to next face Cuban boxer Frank Sanchez.