Now that he finally has a world title around his waist, he doesn't seem interested in waiting for anything else.

On Saturday night in London, Hrgovic pulled off a dramatic comeback to stop heavily favored Moses Itauma in the ninth round and capture the vacant IBF heavyweight title.

For most of the fight, it looked like Hrgovic's opportunity was slipping away.

Itauma dropped him in the second round and used his superior speed to dominate much of the action. Hrgovic was taking big punches to the head and body, and by his own admission, he was being outboxed.

It appeared to be a matter of time before the fight was stopped or Hrgovic went down for the count.

But he never went away.

Hrgovic continued to absorb everything Itauma threw at him, waited for the younger fighter to slow down and then took advantage when Itauma completely ran out of gas.

By the ninth round, the fight had completely changed.

Hrgovic was suddenly the one coming forward and landing the damaging punches. Itauma was exhausted, struggling to defend himself and eventually overwhelmed along the ropes as the fight was stopped.

At 34 years old, Hrgovic is finally where he wants to be.

Now comes the complicated part.

If the IBF and promoter Frank Warren have their way, Hrgovic already knows his next opponent.

Frank Sanchez stepped aside to allow Itauma and Hrgovic to fight for the vacant title, with Sanchez guaranteed an opportunity against the winner. Warren made it clear immediately after Saturday's fight that Sanchez is supposed to be next.

Hrgovic doesn't seem particularly interested.

When Sanchez's name was raised after the fight, Hrgovic quickly turned the conversation toward unification.

And it's difficult to blame him. Sanchez is a dangerous opponent without bringing the type of financial reward or profile that would normally come with a championship fight.

The Cuban is coming off an impressive one-punch knockout of Richard Torrez Jr. and has positioned himself at the front of the IBF line. He is skilled, experienced and difficult to look good against.

In other words, plenty of risk without necessarily providing Hrgovic with the type of fight he wants at this stage of his career.

Hrgovic believes there is another solution — pay Sanchez to step aside again.

If that can be accomplished, the heavyweight picture becomes considerably more interesting.

Still, the IBF is very strict and rarely approves step-aside deals. Of the four major sanctioning bodies, it is by far the toughest when it comes to making champions meet their mandatory obligations.

Most sanctioning bodies would view a two-belt unification as holding more importance than a mandatory obligation, but the IBF has not always been accommodating in those scenarios.

This appears to be the fight Hrgovic wants most.

Kabayel currently holds the WBC heavyweight title, and the two came face-to-face in the ring after Hrgovic's victory over Itauma.

There wouldn't be much selling required.

Two European heavyweights and two world championships. And a winner who would suddenly control half of the major heavyweight titles.

Stylistically, it would also be a fascinating fight.

Kabayel's pressure and body attack have become his trademarks, while Hrgovic just demonstrated that breaking him physically is much easier said than done.

For Hrgovic, there is another obvious attraction. At 34, he doesn't have the luxury of spending several years slowly building toward unification fights. The time is now.

If Sanchez can be moved aside and the WBC has no obligation that prevents Kabayel from taking the fight, this is exactly the type of opportunity Hrgovic should pursue.

Then there is the fight that comes with a built-in storyline.

Daniel Dubois is the only man to defeat Hrgovic as a professional.

Their first meeting in 2024 ended after eight rounds when the ringside doctor stopped the contest because of severe cuts around Hrgovic's eyes.

That defeat changed the direction of both careers.

Dubois moved forward to face the heavyweight elite, while Hrgovic was forced to rebuild.

Now the circumstances are very different.

Hrgovic has something Dubois wants — the IBF heavyweight championship.

And Hrgovic has something he wants from Dubois — revenge.

If Dubois comes through his next fight with the WBO title, a rematch would become considerably bigger than their first meeting.

The rematch with Fabio Wardley, which takes place on October 17, is very dangerous. In their first meeting, Dubois was down twice in the early rounds, before rolling the dice by going to war with Wardley to secure a stoppage in the championship rounds.

Wardley took a lot of punishment in the second half of the fight, which is why Dubois is heavily favored to win.

Hrgovic specifically mentioned Dubois after defeating Itauma, making it clear that he wants the rematch if Dubois retains his championship.

The problem, once again, is Sanchez.

Hrgovic can say that Sanchez will wait, but Sanchez already waited once.

Eventually, guarantees have to be honored.

That leaves Hrgovic and his team with a decision.

They can satisfy the IBF obligation, fight Sanchez and then pursue a unification if Hrgovic wins.

Or they can reach into their pockets, convince Sanchez to step aside for a second time and capitalize immediately on Hrgovic's biggest moment. They would also have to get the IBF on board — or risk the sanctioning body ordering Hrgovic to face the next available contender in the top ten.

And the third, and least desirable option, would be to vacate the IBF belt in order to pursue a big money fight with a world title involved.

But at 34 years old, Hrgovic will weigh his options with a lot of care.

Saturday's victory completely changed his position in the heavyweight division.

Before the fight, Hrgovic was viewed as the experienced opponent standing between Itauma and history.

Now he's a world champion with options. And after spending years waiting for his opportunity, nobody should be surprised that Filip Hrgovic has no intention of waiting anymore.