Hrgovic makes huge change to the Itauma story but he hasn't written the ending

Rescued by an observant Howard Foster and hesitant Ben Davison, Moses' first swim in the heavyweight division's deep end immediately appeared smooth.

After eventually succumbing to the relentless pressure of the marauding Croat, it’s unclear how he will react to his next dip in the water. 

Like when every next great British hope has fallen, Lennox Lewis in 1994, Audley Harrison 11 years later, Amir Khan three years after that, inquests take place, changes are made, and the experience of a first heartbreaking defeat is switched from a disaster nobody saw coming to a positive happening that will improve the fighter in the long term. 

Already, the reasons for Moses’ stoppage defeat to Hrgovic have been placed on people other than himself with his promotional and training teams taking the bulk of the blame.

Could things have been managed better at Queensberry Promotions? Was enough work put in under Davison? Or is this on Moses once that first bell sounds? 

The new Mike Tyson

Saturday night was Moses’ intended coronation, and it took place at a sold-out O2 Arena in London after the fighter didn't leave an empty seat at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester just a few months earlier against Jermaine Franklin.

This is a fighter who turned professional with no high-profile amateur medals and who a few years later was a guaranteed draw thanks to the phenomenal promotional effort put into him combined with a number of blistering performances. 

On his way to this position, Frank Warren, renowned for making the right fights at the right time, a fact many of his former world champions can confirm, made Moses look like a future superstar from day one with Mike Tyson comparisons coming from the most respected voices in the sport including Teddy Atlas, who knows what it takes to prepare the legendary New Yorker.  

---

Hrgovic stuns Moses to become IBF champion

Watch: Croatian upsets Briton to earn heavyweight crown

---

In the last couple of years, knockouts over Demsey McKean, Dillian Whyte, and Jermaine Franklin persuaded those pushing Moses that he was ready for Hrgovic and regardless of what happened on Saturday night, it was the right call heading in and losing doesn't change that. 

Since the result, Hrgovic has been repackaged into this heavyweight dangerman, but was there any evidence to suggest that before he broke Moses’ heart and spirit? 

In 2022 and the following year, Hrgovic had almighty struggles with Zhilei Zhang and Demsey McKean before being outlasted by Daniel Dubois in 2024, a fighter singled out for resistance issues on more than one occasion. 

Fighters of course can improve, but even against David Adeleye in 2025, a man unproven beyond British level, Hrgovic had several problems before winning widely on the scorecards. It's clear his win over Moses is undoubtedly the highlight of his career, but heading into that battle, similar successes were difficult to identify. 

• Read next | Itauma critics silenced by former world champion after Hrgovic stoppage loss

For the majority of his fight with Hrgovic, Moses looked several levels above his opponent, and in the early stages, it looked unlikely the rounds Moses desperately needed were not going to be provided by the wily veteran.

Every shot in the book was delivered by Moses, all absorbed by Hrgovic, but there were some slightly worrying signs from the first third of the fight with Moses’ mouth open and the Hrgovic corner constantly telling their man that their plan was working. 

Late Saturday night and well into Sunday morning, almost all the responsibility for Moses’ setback was placed at the door of Davison.

Moses had been coasting before inexplicably running out of gas and when the ninth round arrived, he was fighting on instinct with nothing on his punches and even less in his legs. 

Queensberry

Footage shared by DAZN in the days after one of the best fights of 2026 showed Davison aware of the turning tide, but although he implored Moses to save energy, the advice was either ignored or Moses just didn’t have the conditioning for 12 hard rounds anyway, something he admitted in an earlier interview that could've been the truth or a boisterous statement to highlight just how easy things are for him in both fights and sparring. 

This isn’t Davison’s first time facing scrutiny as the trainer of a leading heavyweight. In 2018, Davison brought in Freddie Roach, arguably the sport’s greatest ever cornerman to assist him for Tyson Fury’s inaugaral fight with Deontay Wilder. 

The fight ended in a draw, but afterwards, Roach was not impressed with Davison’s tactics for Fury although he did praise the British trainer for how well conditioned Fury was.

Roach’s assessment drew criticism from the boxing community with some insisting he was trying to steal Fury from Davison, but his thoughts were echoed the following year by Fury’s father, John, who labelled his son’s corner a ‘circus’ after a hard-fought points win over Otto Wallin. 

Davison oversees Joshua's loss to Dubois

In 2024, Anthony Joshua was bludgeoned by Dubois in an unforgettable encounter that saw Joshua, a huge pre-fight favourite, dropped four times on his way to a fifth-round defeat.

Shane McGuigan, another leading trainer, was critical of Davison’s approach and his guidance to AJ which included ‘roll the dice’ when he was constantly under pressure and being hurt with almost every Dubois shot. 

Since that fight, Pat McCormack was stopped late by Conah Walker after making a decent start. Fabio Wardley dropped Dubois twice in the early stages before being halted in the penultimate round. And now Itauma.

Davison has delivered on many occasions for his fighters, but there’s an alarming pattern at the highest level, and the manner of Moses’ capitulation further suggests that more work could be done inside Davison’s gym as trainers also deserve the chance to improve as well as fighters. 

Whether that opportunity to better himself will be with Moses is another matter, but history tells us that when a crisis happens to a boxer on the way up, the coach is usually the first man to go.

Moses and his team may feel Davison got everything right in their preparations and that the fighter himself is to blame for going all out, but when Moses does return to action, it wouldn't be a surprise to see somebody different in his corner. 

After a lengthy rest, Moses will be back, but what approach is required to get the 21-year-old the type of stamina necessary for a world title win and the experience to stay at that level against a variety of tests.

For all Warren’s ability to guide his fighters to the pinnacle of the sport, the Hall of Fame promoter has also demonstrated his expertise when bringing fighters back from their first loss. 

When Khan lost to Breidis Prescott in 60 seconds in 2008, eulogies were delivered for the man from Bolton’s career as his resistance was finally broken after several close calls before facing the heavy-handed Colombian. A routine win over Oisin Fagan followed before Warren brought over a faded Marco Antonio Barrera who was beaten by Khan before Andreas Kotelnik was outclassed to give the 2004 Olympian his first world title.  

Nobody has given up on Moses, but the same cannot be said for Khan almost 20 years ago who went from down-and-out to king of the world in just ten months.

Warren will be relishing this rebuild and it will be a job he will be cracking on with right away. 

Who could be next for Moses?

Does Moses feature against someone who will fall under the slightest bit of pressure for his comeback to restore his confidence or are rounds required immediately after Hrgovic exploited a major flaw in Moses’ current makeup. 

Close to home, Adeleye, Frazer Clarke, and Dave Allen are interesting options that Moses would begin a big favourite in. All have featured on huge cards and are well known by the boxing public, and for a fight intended to display Moses’ best qualities, this could be the route Queensberry want to go down. 

If rounds are needed, then Jarrell Miller could be the man who gets the call if his rumoured battle with WBA ruler Murat Gassiev doesn't go ahead.

Renowned for his mouth and durability, Miller’s antics heading into a potential Moses fight could help the young fighter’s mental warfare after tensions spilt over during the weigh-in with Hrgovic, and after proving himself against several big punchers, Miller could still be standing well into the fight’s second half if Moses wants to become a fighter who can also go the distance. 

Despite enduring his first defeat, there was so much to like about Moses’ heart, desire, and chin, as he kept fighting knowing better than anyone that there wasn't much left he could call on.

If he’s to rule as world champion then he will need those qualities in every big fight, and against Hrgovic when he knew time was running out, Moses wasn’t found wanting in those departments as everything he had was left in the ring. 

Adding to that is the next stage of his development. Last Saturday was intended to be a platform for Moses to usher in a new era of heavyweight boxing. Hrgovic ruined his night.

It’s vital that Moses and those moving his career along brilliantly up until August 29 ensure he hasn't sabotaged his entire career.

Watch Garcia vs. Benn on DAZN

Britian's Conor Benn looks to become a world champion for the first time against US superstar Ryan Garcia on Saturday, September 12. Watch the fight exclusively in the UK & Ireland and other territories (check for availability) on DAZN PPV or included in our Ultimate Tier subscription.

For more information, pricing and to buy, click here .