By Dorcas Francis Koji
Moses Itauma is already eager to settle the score with Filip Hrgovic after suffering a dramatic ninth-round stoppage defeat at London’s O2 Arena.
The 21-year-old British heavyweight appeared on course for victory after dominating the first eight rounds, but Hrgovic produced a stunning comeback in the ninth round to turn the contest on its head and deny Itauma the opportunity to become the second-youngest heavyweight world champion in boxing history.
Itauma was reportedly ahead on all three judges’ scorecards after eight rounds, but his energy levels dropped as the fight progressed. Hrgovic capitalised on the opportunity, applying relentless pressure before forcing the stoppage.
The defeat proved a physically demanding one for Itauma, who was carried from the arena on a stretcher and taken to hospital for assessment. He was later released.
Despite the setback, Itauma wasted little time expressing his desire for a rematch.
According to his long-time promoter, Frank Warren, the young heavyweight contacted him after returning home and immediately asked about the possibility of facing Hrgovic again.
“He’s saying to me, ‘Can we get the rematch on?’ which is a natural reaction,” Warren told talkSPORT Breakfast.
However, Warren believes Itauma needs to temporarily step away from boxing before making any decision about his next opponent.
“But I told him, ‘You have got to switch off from boxing, go and chill out and spend some time with your family and come back, recharge your batteries and then we get to work again.’”
Warren remains confident that the defeat will not derail Itauma’s career, insisting that the youngster demonstrated that he belongs at the highest level.
“The landscape is what it is; you are a big part of it. You have shown you belong at that level,” he said.
“Provided he learns the lessons from the fight, I think he can go on and do great things.”
While Itauma is keen to immediately return to elite-level competition, Warren believes the boxer should take a more measured route back.
The promoter said he would prefer Itauma to have one or two fights against less demanding opposition before considering another bout at Hrgovic’s level.
“I would like to see him in at least one, maybe two fights and see where we go before we go [back to that level],” Warren said.
“We’ve got to sit down with the whole team and discuss this.”
Warren, who works alongside Itauma’s manager Francis Warren, also explained that he had identified the danger of Itauma exhausting himself during the fight.
He said Itauma appeared to be tiring late in the contest but still produced a strong eighth round, before eventually running out of energy.
“I said, ‘He’s going to punch himself out’. I could see what was going to happen,” Warren recalled.
“He had his foot stuck down on overdrive, and that was it.”
According to Warren, Itauma’s relentless attacking style would have overwhelmed most heavyweights, but the fight exposed the need for the youngster to develop alternative tactics when his power does not immediately produce the desired result.
“I believe 98 per cent of the heavyweight fighters would have got stopped on Saturday by the punches he was throwing,” Warren said.
But he noted that Itauma had previously been warned that he would eventually encounter an opponent capable of absorbing his best shots and forcing him to adjust his approach.
“There will come a time when you come against someone who can take a shot, and you’ll have to get to plan B,” Warren said.
“That’s what happened on the night, and it’s happened to so many fighters over the years, especially big-punching fighters.”
Warren believes Itauma’s inability to maintain his boxing rhythm in the closing rounds ultimately proved decisive.
“If he could have boxed the last few rounds, maybe he would have got through that because he was miles ahead on points,” he said.
“The only way Filip could have won was to knock him over, which is what he did at the end of the day.”
For now, Itauma’s immediate focus will be on recovery and learning from the first defeat of his professional career, even as the young heavyweight continues to harbour ambitions of returning to the top level and eventually getting another opportunity against Hrgovic.
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