British boxing promoter, Frank Warren, remains confident that Moses Itauma can recover from his first professional defeat and eventually fulfil his huge potential despite his damaging loss to Filip Hrgovic.
Itauma’s unbeaten run came to an abrupt end on Saturday night at The O2 after Hrgovic stopped him in the ninth round of their contest for the vacant IBF heavyweight title.
The 21-year-old was taken from the ring on a stretcher following an exhausting battle, having entered the fight without ever previously going beyond the sixth round of a professional bout.
Itauma initially looked in complete control, using his superior speed, movement and sharp combinations to dominate Hrgovic during the early stages.
However, the British prospect began exchanging punches with the Croatian in the eighth and ninth rounds, eventually running out of energy.
Hrgovic, who absorbed Itauma’s early attacks and relied on his experience, turned the fight in his favour as the contest moved into the later rounds.
Despite the setback, Warren believes Itauma remains an exceptional talent but admits the young heavyweight must learn from the experience and make tactical improvements.
“It’s too early to be making those decisions, you want to talk to him first and he will have to want to do it, which I’m sure he will,” Warren said.
“You find out the calibre of a guy. It’s all about the mindset and where they’re at. You should learn from something like this and I’m sure he will. That aura of invincibility, at the moment, is gone. People will look at that and maybe it will make it easier to make fights for him.
“Mentally, he’s going to be completely down. We’re going to have to talk to him and lift him and see what he’s like. It’s going to take some time. He’s still one of the most unbelievable talents I’ve ever been involved with. We’ll stick with him. He needs a bit more ring craft and needs to stop thinking about knocking everyone out.
“Somebody was saying to me this evening [Saturday] that Moses won’t feel he’s won the world title properly unless he’s knocked him out and I didn’t like hearing that.”
Hrgovic, meanwhile, believes Itauma can still become a world champion but warned him against rushing his development.
The Croatian claimed the biggest victory of his career by defeating Itauma, having previously suffered his only professional loss against fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in an IBF world title challenge in 2024.
Hrgovic said Itauma’s lack of experience ultimately worked against him and advised the young fighter to learn how to manage his energy over the longer distance.
“Moses is an amazing talent and I believe he will be a world champion for sure,” Hrgovic said. “But he needs more time. My advice is to not give up.
“I’ve never been in the ring with someone like him, but he’s inexperienced. He was winning all the rounds but went toe-to-toe with me in round nine. It was a stupid move by him, it was very stupid. It was inexperience.
“He needs to pace himself and adjust to professional boxing. You can’t box like an amateur, it’s a 12-round fight so you need to pace yourself. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and Croatia’s first heavyweight world champion, is now hoping to make his first title defence in his home country.
