Moses Itauma faces a major rebuild after his stunning collapse in the ninth round of Saturday's IBF world heavyweight title fight against Filip Hrgovic.
Itauma battered Hrgovic for eight rounds, dropping him in the second, and looked on the brink of a stoppage. However, the Croatian withstood the barrage and Itauma was completely spent, having emptied his tank. The towel came in from the Briton's corner in the ninth, with him swaying all over the place and Hrgovic moving in.
It was Itauma's first defeat after a stunning rise that saw him proclaimed as the future of British heavyweight boxing. Victory on Saturday at the O2 Arena would have seen him become the second-youngest heavyweight champion in history behind only Mike Tyson.
What went wrong?
Ultimately, it was the 21-year-old's inexperience that cost him dearly.
The gap in talent was obvious from the start, as he completely outclassed Hrgovic. However, the Croatian is as tough as they come, and his plan to take the fight into the later rounds – new territory for Itauma – paid off handsomely.
That said, a more seasoned version of Itauma, now 14-1, would surely have paced himself and eased to a points victory. He was throwing every single punch with bad intentions from the first round before the critical error of judgment in the eighth that led to his downfall.
Hrgovic was hurt but not ready to go, and Itauma completely punched himself out chasing a stoppage that wasn't really on the cards. It was a rookie mistake.
“He is the best I have been in the ring with, but he needs more experience. I knew I was losing the rounds, but I knew that I had the pace in my favour. He needs more experience, but he is one of a kind,” Hrgovic said.
“From the first round, I saw his gassing out. He started fast. I knew he was going to gas out. I knew when my chance came I needed to push. That is what I did.”
Itauma can come again
It was a defeat reminiscent of a young David Haye falling short against Carl Thompson in September 2004. That night, Haye, at the time a rising star of world boxing, punched himself out against the wily veteran, gassed, and was stopped on his feet, just like Itauma.
Haye rebuilt his career and won titles at cruiserweight and heavyweight. Itauma can also come again, but he must learn from his mistakes. Wladimir Klitschko also had similar struggles in early-career defeats against Ross Purity and Corrie Sanders before developing into the seasoned veteran who dominated the heavyweight division.
“Unbelievable talent and skills,” four-weight world champion Shakur Stevenson wrote on X. “He's young and will be a champion one day if he learns from that. He throws every punch at 100mph and that can be a gift and a curse. Especially in the heavyweights division!”
Itauma's promoter, Frank Warren, suggested he had a leg injury. “This was an unbelievable fight tonight. Two courageous guys, Moses gave everything. He’s got a leg injury, he’s got to go back to the drawing board and can go again. He’s a young man, he’s only 21, it was an opportunity, he took it and it wasn’t to be,” said Warren.
“I think towards the end of the fight it wasn’t like he was walking or trying to hold, he was just throwing, which they both were doing and he got clipped. He started off well but what happened happened, that’s boxing. He can come again.”
What next for Hrgovic?
Hrgovic, 34, now 21-1, demanded unification bouts against Daniel Dubois – the only man to beat him – and Agit Kabayel. However, he is more likely to defend his newly won title against Cuba's Frank Sanchez.
Sanchez took a step-aside payment and a guaranteed shot at the winner to allow Saturday's bout to happen.
Hrgovic, who became Croatia's first-ever heavyweight title holder, said: “Itauma is an amazing fighter. I am the present. He is definitely the future.”
