Hrgovic: Itauma 'humiliated' by IBF defeat but could become unbeatable

Filip Hrgovic stopped Moses Itauma in the ninth round of their IBF heavyweight title fight at the O2 Arena in August, and said Itauma may never lose again if he overcomes the "humiliation" of that defeat. Hrgovic added that Itauma has only lost one of his 15 professional fights.

Hrgovic, 34, and Itauma, a 21-year-old southpaw, met as Hrgovic challenged for the IBF heavyweight title; Itauma had been the strong pre-fight favourite. Early in the contest Hrgovic was knocked down in the second round and conceded he was "outboxed" in the opening stages. The momentum shifted when Hrgovic capitalised as Itauma tired and ultimately stopped him in round nine.

Assessing Itauma's abilities, Hrgovic offered praise for the younger fighter's skills and ringcraft. "He's really good. He's special. Very fast, very talented and he countered whatever I tried with his speed and timing," he said. "I never was in the ring before with such a talented kid, with such a fast guy. You have some fast guys but they're small heavyweights. You can handle them with your power but this kid is fast and big. He's got great IQ and great talent."

Hrgovic said the defeat left him frustrated because he felt outboxed, an unusual experience in his career. "I'm still kind of angry because he outboxed me. In my whole career, in 20 years of boxing, I was never outboxed in any sparring or any fight," he said, while also noting he managed to take advantage when Itauma's energy faded.

While praising Itauma's physical and technical gifts, Hrgovic raised concerns about the psychological impact of the loss. "It was big shock for him, big humiliation, so maybe it's end of his career if he's not mentally tough. If he recovers from this loss, mentally, it will be hard for anyone to ever beat him again," he said. "A lot of people after that kind of loss, they never come back. So, it will be a hard journey for him to come back."

Hrgovic outlined what he believes Itauma must do to return to peak form and reiterated his own ambitions in the division. "You have to go through a ruthless, hard training camp. You need to go through hell to be mentally ready for this. I think he was physically ready but it's the mental part," he said. Hrgovic added that he wants to unify the division.