The Ring's No. 5-rated heavyweight will face No. 6-ranked Itauma at O2 Arena in London on August 29, live on DAZN Pay-Per-View.

On paper, Hrgovic is a slight underdog heading in. However, he believes those odds won't matter once he lands his right hand. If and when he does, even if it's in the first round, he’s convinced the fight will end.

"Of course man, I can knock out a horse," Hrgovic told The Ring when asked if he’s confident about stopping Itauma in the first.

"He starts fast. I don’t start fast, I’m a slow starter but in this fight, I will. I must train to start fast, I want to get into a fight with him, don't want to box too much. I want to get into a fight and see how tough he is."

So far, no one has come close to pushing Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) to his limits. Even when the competition has risen, as it did against Dillian Whyte and Jermaine Franklin, the results have been two highlight-reel knockouts.

When it comes to talent, Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) would be a fool to deny what Itauma has in his locker. The 21-year-old is fast, strong, and hits like a truck. With that said, however, he hasn't been faced with the kind of hardships that Hrgovic has.

"I had 10 times a harder path," Hrgovic said.

"I'm not saying that he's not working hard. He's training hard like every athlete in the world twice a day but it's different when you're coming from a small country. Nobody sees a big opportunity to make a lot of money off you. That makes a difference in promotion and managing. When he went from amateurs to professional, everything was on the table for him. He just needed to train and win, he did that and now he's like a superstar in 14 fights."

That superstar status at such a young age is now backfiring, according to the Croatian veteran. Itauma, despite his relative freshness in the professional game, has said previously he's growing tired of the sport.

Those comments have baffled the 34-year-old, who believes they are evidence Itauma isn't made of the right stuff to last at the top.

"It's all about your mentality and your lifestyle," the longtime contender said.

"It's important and gives me belief in myself. That was always my power. My lifestyle, character, discipline, courage, my will ... I had a lot of wins, not just in the ring but outside it. Nothing could stop me, it's not for no reason that I'm here on top of the division."