Moses Itauma has been urged “not to give up” by Filip Hrgovic, the new IBF world heavyweight champion, who stopped the 21-year-old Briton with a dramatic and stunning turnaround in their title fight late on Saturday night at London’s O2 Arena.
Itauma was taken to hospital in a precautionary measure after the fight and Frank Warren, his promoter, confirmed to the Guardian on Sunday morning that his young heavyweight was still under medical observation.
“He’s still in hospital, still under observation,” Warren said of Itauma. “I think they’ll let him out today. They’re just doing the usual tests because he didn’t get there until late. So he got some sleep and they’re just doing what they normally do. He should be okay. I’ve messaged him a couple of times. He’s messaged back. We’ll have a call later today.”
Hrgovic said he had lost the first eight rounds to the “amazing” Itauma, whom he also described as “the best guy in the division, the most talented guy in the division”, but that his own hard-bitten experience after nine years as a professional fighter was the telling difference.
The 34-year-old Croat also stressed that Itauma made some basic mistakes in the pacing of the fight and, for all his speed and skill, ended up brawling like an amateur in the last two tumultuous rounds of a gripping battle. “My advice is to, of course, not give up,” Hrgovic said of Itauma, “not lose his confidence, to get a few easy fights, easy wins, to build again, and to learn from these mistakes. You can’t box like an amateur. It’s a 12-round fight, man. You need to pace yourself. You need to, in every moment, be ready and, you know, it’s a marathon. It’s not a sprint.”
Asked if it had always been his plan to take the bout into the later rounds, Hrgovic shook his head. “No, I thought I’m gonna connect more from the beginning, but I couldn’t match his speed. He’s very fast. I didn’t see his punches coming. I didn’t see his counters coming. I thought it was gonna be easier but I just couldn’t land.”
Hrgovic pointed to the inexperience of Itauma which cost him at such a crucial period after he had built a wide lead on the scorecards. “He’s just a kid. He could have boxed [at range] for the last few rounds. Use his legs, box. He was winning all the rounds. But he went toe-to-toe with me in round [nine]. It was a stupid move from him. Very stupid. But it’s inexperience. He’s an amazing fighter, but he’s still young.”
Itauma left the ring on a stretcher, after being given oxygen. At the post-fight press conference Warren said: “It’s precautionary that he’s gone to the hospital,” Warren said. “That’s what we always do, because the most important thing is the boxer’s health.”
The promoter added: “He’s done something to his leg as well and he was quite tired. It was a high-paced, fast fight for both guys.” Warren, who also promotes Hrgovic, praised the Croat as a “classy guy, a classy champ. He’s been really honest about how hard the fight was for him too.”
The weary but happy new champion spoke of how, over the years, “God tested me many times, and I endure everything. I stay strong, and he now gave me the best possible gift to win a world title against the best guy in the division, the most talented guy in the division. And there is no better way for me to become a world champion.”
He offered one more note of advice for his vanquished young rival. “He’s really fast but I didn’t feel his power. He needs to work on his power to sit more on his punches. When he knocked me down [in the second round] I wasn’t hurt. I just didn’t see the punches coming. But he needs to pace himself. He needs to adjust a little bit to professional boxing. He’s definitely an amazing talent, and I believe he’ll be world champion for sure. But he needs more time.”
